


A New Hero

by Paladin_Willa



Series: Daminette [15]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chaotic Chat, Childhood Friends, Fighting, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Good Chloé, Good Lila Rossi, Lila Rossi Redemption, Lila Rossi Sugar, Mentions of Emotional Abuse, Multi, Slow Burn, Training, but also some sugar, cause, class salt, i fell out of enjoyin the ship, idk what else to put for now, ml salt, so ya, some class salt, sorry - Freeform, sorry to those who enjoyed dick n babs, this is Good Fanon Lila
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2020-11-23 06:03:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 59,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20887313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paladin_Willa/pseuds/Paladin_Willa
Summary: What if Mari trained with the Batfamily since she was 10?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so here’s my first multi chap fic!! This one is intentional and IDK how many chaps it'll be!! I know there's like another fic(s) that have a few parts/chaps but those weren't intentional. This one was!! Ok, so I also wanna thank my awesome discord buddies for this!! They helped push this idea into existence and are letting/helping me with some fun little things. I'll tell you what they helped with at the endnotes!! Dont wanna spoil the fun!!

Fu smiled as he and Mari went through the portal. Sabine and Tom were waving as they went through. The 10-year-old was practically bouncing next to him as they walked. Kaalki was back on his shoulder next to Wayzz eating a sugar cube. Tikki was on Mari’s head talking to the little girl while eating a cookie. Sabine was family to him so he had told her. And she was ok with him teaching Mari. Only as long as she also learns how to fight and defend herself.

So, here they were, in front of Wayne Manor. Fu knew the Wayne’s while Mari’s parents knew Alfred, their butler. Fu knocked on the door and Alfred opened it with a smile. “Hello Master Fu, Ms. Mari,” he greeted with a smile and Mari beamed at him.

“Hello Alfred!” she greeted as they went inside.

“Master Bruce is waiting in the living room,” he said and Fu nodded understanding. Alfred led them to the room. Inside was Bruce sitting on the couch reading a paper. “Master Bruce, they’re here,” Alfred spoke and Bruce put his paper away and smiled at the two.

“Fu, it’s good to see you again. So this is Marinette?” he asked and Fu nodded with a smile.

“Yes. Mari, meet my old friend Bruce Wayne,” Fu introduced and Mari beamed up at Bruce.

“Nice to meet you!” she greeted shaking Bruce’s hand.

“You’ll be meeting my sons later today. The eldest two are at Wayne Enterprise’s, the two younger ones are in classes right now,” Bruce said and Mari nodded understanding.

“I trust you’ll teach her everything she needs to know?” Fu asked and Bruce nodded.

“She’ll be able to defend herself both in and out of the mask, Fu. We’ll take great care of her,” Bruce assured and Fu nodded understanding.

“I know. Alright, Mari, I’ll come get you at the end of summer, alright?” he asked and Mari nodded understanding. “I’ll also make sure your friends know how to contact you,” he continued and Mari bounced at that with the biggest smile. “See you later.”

“By grandpa! See you later!” Mari yelled.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Mari beamed as she sat next to Bruce in the living room. Two of his sons should be arriving home. “Master Tim, Master Damian, we have a guest who will be staying with us for some time,” Alfred’s voice filtered through the manor as the door opened. Soon, Alfred was in the archway with two boys.

One was a teen, and the other looked to be not much older than her. They both had black hair though. The older one had blue eyes and the younger had green eyes. Though it was sort of hard for Mari to see since he was glaring. “Mari, these are my youngest sons, Tim,” he pointed to the teen, “and Damian,” he pointed to the other. Mari waved happily which Tim returned. “Tim, Damian, this is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. My friend Fu asked for us to train her. She’s training to become the next Guardian and needs to be prepared should Paris need a hero,” Bruce explained and Damian continued to glare, but it had lessened.

“Hi!” Mari greeted with a smile and Tim returned it walking toward her.

“Nice to meet you,” Tim greeted shaking her hand. “I’m sure we’ll get along fine,” he said and Mari nodded and looked over at Damian. He just frowned at her and she tilted her head in confusion. “Don’t take it to heart. He's like that to everyone!” Tim explained and Mari nodded understanding.

“Ok! But he’ll be my friend before I head back to Paris!” Mari declared and Damian rolled his eyes and left the room.

“Good luck,” Tim replied before leaving too.

“Why don’t we start?” Bruce asked and Mari nodded. He gripped her hand and led her to the training area.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

“Bruce! Alfred said you wanted us to meet someone!?” Dick called out as he and Jason went into the Batcave. “Who’s she?” he asked when they arrived at the bottom of the stairs and saw Bruce training a little girl younger than Damian. Bruce stopped the training and turned the girl to them.

“This is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, thou she likes to go by Mari. Mari, this is my eldest Dick, then that’s Jason,” he said pointing to them both. The little girl beamed at them before pointing at Jason.

“Why do you have a patch of white in your hair?” she asked and the two shared a look.

“He dyed it that way.”

“I dyed it,” Jason and Dick said at the same time and Mari giggled at that. At that, they both thought of how smol and precious this little girl was.

“We won’t let anything bad happen to you,” Dick said picking the girl up and Bruce shook his head as he watched Dick play with Mari and Jason mess her hair up.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

That’s how the days went by. Mari would get trained by any and all the batfamily and then play with them. She made several treats to win over Damian. She’s succeeded in getting him to not glare at her 24/7. She’s very proud of that. That even impressed Dick.

Now, Dick had her on his shoulders as he and Jason took her around Gotham. People looked at them confused. “Who’s that?” a vendor asked when he stopped to get Mari a treat.

“A guest of ours! Though I think she’s going to become an honorary Wayne,” Dick said with a laugh. Mari started giggled at that as she held Dick’s head.

“How cute. She definitely fits the bill with black hair and blue eyes,” the vendor teased and the two brothers laughed at that.

“He’s got a point,” Jason conceded and Dick nodded agreement.

“What’ll you have?” he asked and the two looked up at Mari. Well, Jason did, Dick just patted her knee.

“A cookie please!” she said excitedly and the vendor smiled with a chuckle.

“Sure thing, sweetie!” he answered and pulled out a chocolate chip cookie in a napkin and handed it to her. “On the house!” he continued and the brothers smiled at that.

“Thanks,” Dick said though he put a couple $5 bills in the tip jar. With that, the three continued on over to the zoo.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Summer soon came to an end. Mari pouted as she looked between Fu and the Wayne’s. “I’ll miss you guys,” Mari said and three of the brothers smiled at her while Bruce’s face softened slightly. Damian gave a short nod to show agreement.

“We’ll miss you too, little lady,” Jason replied ruffling her hair while Dick crouched in front of her.

“Now, be good, ok? We don’t want to hear about anything bad,” Dick said and Mari nodded before hugging him.

“You know, Mari, you could come every other weekend to continue training,” Fu said. “But only if Bruce is ok with it,” he said and Mari turned to Bruce and did puppy-dog eyes. Bruce had the barest of smiles looking at her.

“I’m alright with her visiting over the weekend to get more training in,” Bruce replied and Mari beamed up at him.

“Yeah!” she shouted excitedly and hugged Bruce’s legs before heading over to Fu. “I’ll see you soon!” she yelled as Fu walked her over to the portal. On the other side was Mari’s parents waving and smiling at their daughter. “Mama! Papa!” Mari shouted with a big smile and ran over to the two. Her parents caught her with a laugh and hugged them tightly.

“Until next time,” Fu said before following her through.

_ Lana Needs Sleep <3 @proudgothamite _

_ Did I just see Dick and Jason with a little girl? Bruce must have adopted her, she has blue eyes and black hair. #lostwayne #brucehasaproblem #shessoenergetic _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s chapter 2! So the first few chaps are going to be short and pretty quick. Once Mari is….I think 14 maybe…..it’ll stop being years between them. I just kinda want a brief little thing going up to when Hawkmoth comes in. Ok? I hope that made sense. Also, if ya want to go to my mess of a Tumblr its @ranger-gothamite!! Just thought I’d tell ya in case ya wanted to visit it! Anyways, I hope you enjoy it!!

When summer came, Mari was excited. She could spend every day with the Wayne’s. Her parents would even visit a couple of times during summer. She beamed up at Dick who gave her a hug. Jason smiled at her and rubbed her hair once more. “Hey, pixie-pop. You excited for another summer with us?” he asked and Mari nodded excitedly.

“Yes! I had so much fun last summer!” she beamed up at him and both Dick and Tim laughed at that.

“I’m glad you had fun,” Dick said. Mari turned to the last brother and smiled at him. Damian nodded back. They all then went into the manor and Alfred smiled at her.

“Hello, Mari,” he greeted.

“Grandpa!” she shouted and Alfred chuckled at that. Alfred was only her godfather, but he didn’t mind being called grandpa by her. He bent down and picked the 11-year-old up and hugged her. He then set her down once more before grabbing her hand and walking to the manor with the boys behind her.

“It’s good to see you again. I hope you have fun this summer too,” he said with a smile that Mari returned.

“I know I will!! Mari replied and Alfred’s smile grew as he led her inside.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Mari clapped happily as Dick finished showing her some new acrobatic moves he did her age. “Think you can be able to do that?” he asked and Mari nodded and Dick chuckled. Mari went over to him and Dick gave pointers as she went through the movements. He laughed as she did the movements and stumbled.

She laughed as well. They went through the routine until she was able to go through it without stumbling or tripping. Jason came up behind Dick and placed his bent arm on Dick’s shoulder. “Have fun, pixie-pop?” he asked and Mari beamed up at him and nodded. “Now, ready to learn how to disable a gun?” While they wouldn’t show her how to shoot, they knew it would benefit her to know how to disarm them. Especially since they were in Gotham and someone was bound to try mugging her.

“Yes!” she replied for both questions and Jason smirked as he moved his arm off Dick. “Later Dick!” Dick looked wary but nodded and left to do some other things. Jason smiled as he led her over to his stash of weapons. “That’s a lot,” she pointed at looking up at Jason. Jason shrugged with a smirk

“Gotta be prepared,” Jason remarked before helping her onto a seat. He then showed her how to disarm the guns quickly but safely.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Tim was showing her puzzles and riddles. He wanted her to think creatively with what she knows. And with every lesson, she was getting better. She had fun with Tim as they solved puzzles. Bruce had Damian spar with her. With either him or one of his brothers supervising of course.

They trained every day for an hour or so before she did something else. They went between training and doing fun stuff. Alfred came by and took her to the kitchen. They made macaroons together which had Mari laughing delightedly. Alfred was smiling at Mari as they made the treats together.

They soon finished the treats and Alfred started lunch. Once lunch was ready they ate. Afterwards, he brought out the macaroons they made and everyone ate them happily. “These are delicious,” Dick said and Alfred and Mari smiled at him.

“Thank you, Master Dick. Marinette helped make them,” he said and Dick beamed at the little girl.

“Good job!” he said and Mari smiled excitedly.

“Are we gonna make more treats grandpa?” she asked and Alfred nodded agreement.

“Of course,” he agreed.

“How’s it with Chloe? She seemed to quite the pain last we talked,” Jason asked and Mari frowned.

“She’s mean. But she’s getting better!” Mari said and everyone smiled at her. Though Damian wasn’t smiling. He just looked less annoyed at the thought.

“That’s good!” Dick replied and Mari nodded.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Mari giggled and kicked her legs from her spot atop Jason. He held onto her legs loosely. He chuckled as he kept her from falling down. “How’d you like the movie, pixie-pop?” he asked and he heard her laugh.

“It was awesome!” she said excitedly and Jason smiled at that.

“What part did you like the most?”

“I really liked it when Holley and Finn help keep Mater and Lightning safe!” she answered.

“That was a good part,” Jason agreed as they walked. Dick was laughing beside him while Tim grumbled in front of Dick. “What, Timbo, do you not agree with pixie-pop?” Jason asked and Tim glanced up.

“Why did I have to come? Damian got out of it,” Tim asked and Dick smirked.

“You wanted to. Don’t lie,” Dick replied and Mari laughed as Tim shrunk down and grumbled his agreement softly. They continued down the street back up to the manor. Mari laughed and giggled as they went. “You excited to go home next week?” Mari nodded.

“Yeah! I cant wait to see Nino and Kim again!” she replied and Dick nodded.

“I imagine they’re excited to see you too,” Dick replied and Mari beamed at him.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Mari held Alfred’s and Dick’s hand as they left the manor and went to the portal. Master Fu was with her parents and waving with a smile.”Grandpa!” Mari shouted excitedly and let go of Dick’s hand to wave excitedly. “Goodbye! I had fun this summer!” Mari said as she hugged each Wayne tightly.

“I’m glad you had fun this summer, Mari,” Damian said as Mari hugged him.

“Of course I would! I was with my friends!” Mari said and Damian flustered at that. Mari waved once more with a smile before running over to the portal. She ran through it and hugged her parents then Master Fu. “Until next time!” Mari shouted before the portal closed.

_ Over everything @why-is-this-happening _

_ The Wayne’s adopted another one. Just saw Dick, Jason, and Tim with a little girl walking from the theater. #lostwaynefound #hegotanotherone #brucehasaproblem _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap!! I hope you enjoy it!! Again, just a reminder, these first few chaps will be short. And, these end tweets are either inspired by or made by my awesome Discord friends!!! Until the next update!! -Love Willa <3<3<3<3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, sorry bout the LONG delay! School was bein annoyin, 2 essays at the same time after turning in two other essays at the same time, then there was an RP I’m apart of, and then LIFE happened. Everything just…….sorta went wrong. I got writers block, it’s still sorta got me so updates will prob still be VERY slow. But ya, I apologize for the wait. I hope you enjoy the update! Also, if ya wanna ask about this fic or a different one feel free to ask, you can even ask on my Tumblr, @ranger-gothamite ! Anyways, enjoy!!!

To say the 12-years-old Mari was shocked would be an understatement. When she greeted the Wayne’s after leaving the portal, Damian hugged her. It was brief. But it still shocked her. His brothers were equally shocked. After the hug, Damian just frowned at them and crossed his arms mumbling. Mari went over to him and hugged him, causing him to stiffen before relaxing. She then hugged the others tightly before grabbing her bag.

Tikki sat atop her head with a smile as they entered the manor once more. Dick was chatting excitedly next to her while the other two just nodded along, adding a detail occasionally that Dick missed. Damian was on her other side.

They lead her to the kitchen where they all said they helped Alfred make macarons. Though Dick and Tim didn’t do much. They can’t bake to save their lives. Damian can bake a little bit, but he mostly got the ingredients out. Jason was the one who helped Alfred the most in baking. Mari was beaming as she ate a couple of macarons. “These are amazing!”

“Thank you, Mari,” Alfred said and Jason reached over and ruffled his hand thru her hair. Mari giggled at that.

“Thanks, pixie-pop,” Jason said with a smile. A knock rang out and Jason looked over to the entry hall. “I’ll go see who it is,” he said and walked from the kitchen toward the door and opened it. Standing there was a teen a few years older than Tim with bright red hair smiling nervously. Behind her was a car. “Hello?”

“Oh! Hey, uh” she started and a blush started growing on her face. Jason smirked at her as she suddenly held out a textbook with papers sticking out of its pages along with a notebook. “I’m in Tim’s class. He-uh, he dropped these as he left class,” she said and Jason nodded.

“That was nice of you to bring em back,” Jason said and the girl gave a small smile. “Jason. And you are?” he asked and she startled.

“Oh! My name is-”

“LANA!” the girl now identified as Lana flinched as a teen leaned out of the car. “Come on! I’m not going to be late for _ your _ family dinner!” he yelled and she flinched once more.

“Jason? Who’s that?” Tim came over and saw his classmate flinching. “Oh, Lana. What are you doing here?” he asked but Lana just pushed his textbook and notebook into his hands. She then started running back to the car waiting for her. “Oh, thanks. See you in September I guess!” he called and Lana raised a hand as she reached the car.

“Come on. We did what you wanted. We better have time to-” the man grumbled as they got into the car and Tim frowned as he watched the car drive away.

“What’s with that frown, Timbo?” Jason asked and Tim glanced over at Jason before looking back towards where the car had gone as Jason closed the door.

“I’m thinking about Lana. She seemed to be…….scared when that boy, I think her boyfriend, yelled,” Tim said and Jason nodded.

“Well, you’ll be able to see how she is in September,” he suggested and Tim nodded.

“Yeah,” the two then went back to the kitchen.

“What was that?” Mari asked and the two smiled.

“My classmate Lana. I dropped my textbook and notebook and she returned them,” Tim said.

“That was nice of her!” Mari said and Tim nodded. Mari continued to snack on macarons.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

A ringing had everyone looking over at Dick as he stood up sheepishly holding his phone. “Sorry. I’ll be back in a few,” he said while Babs patted his arm in understanding. He answered the phone as he left the room. “What’s up?”

“Is it work?” Mari asked and Babs nodded.

“Ya. Or at least someone from work has a question,” Babs said and Mari nodded understanding. Everyone continued eating dinner, chatting softly. Soon Dick came back smiling. “So, what was it about?”

“Oh, you know my partner?” Dick asked and everyone nodded, Dick often talked about his partner at the precinct. “Well, she finally finished her case and is heading back to Gotham,” he said happily and Babs leaned over to kiss Dicks cheek.

“I’m glad Alya’s finally done with her case. She’s the only one I trust in your precinct to keep you safe,” Babs said and Dick nodded.

“Ya. She’s glad to be done too. She’s pretty upset with how long it took,” Dick said and they nodded agreement. Being away from family and home for 6 months isn’t fun.

“Why did it take so long if she’s so good?” Damian asked and Dick shook his head.

“It only took 6 months because of the perp. She figured out who the perp was in a month, Damian. But it took 5 months for the perp to finally act and get arrested,” he explained and Damian nodded at that. “Tim, you said you have a classmate named Lana, right?” He asked and Tim nodded.

“Ya, she came over a week ago to drop off my textbook,” he said.

“Ya, Lana is Alya’s little sister. She’s planning on surprising Lana tomorrow. Wanna know how Lana reacts?” Dick asked and Tim nodded. “Ok. Come to the station at 3 then. That’s when Alya will arrive,” Dick said.

“Why the station?” Tim asked curious.

“Oh, I’m having Lana come over to tell her how her sister is. Only, she’ll be surprised by Alya being there,” he said and Tim nodded at that.

“Fun,” he said and Dick smiled at that.

“Exactly,” Dick said and Babs shook her head fondly.

“Babe, that’s very sweet of you. I know she’ll love this surprise,” Babs agreed and Dick smiled at that.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Tim laughed as Alya finished her tale of how Lana once ran into a pole when she saw someone hot. “That’s hilarious,” Tim said when he got his laughter under control. 

“It was! I’m glad I got to see it happen,” Alya agreed smiling. “Ya know, Dick talks a lot about you and your brothers Tim,” she said and Tim smiled as Dick blushed a bit. “He acts like a proud brother everytime one of ya do something great,” she continued and Tim smirked at his older brother.

“Really? I knew you liked gushing about us,” Tim said and Alya smiled. She glanced over at her desk that was finally dust free and had a few things on it. There was a couple photos, her graduation and a family photo. There was also a small white lantern that held a scented tea candle next to a small jar of fake flowers. She picked up a photo and showed it to them.

“Dick already seen this,” she started and Tim snorted when he saw Lana doing the pose of the emperor's advisor when meeting the emperor from the movie _ Mulan _ while Alya laughed. “She waited so long to do this. I’m going to do this to her once she graduates from both high school and college,” she said and the two laughed at that while she placed the photo back down.

“So, when is Lana supposed to get here?” Tim asked right as the door open and they heard Lana greet everyone.

“So Dick, you said you had some news on Alya?” She asked as she entered the room looking at her phone with a frown. She then looked up and saw Alya sitting on her desk and gasped, dropping her phone. Quite a few officers along with Dick was recording already. They watched as Alya stood up and Lana ran over and hug her. Alya laughed as she held Lana close. Dick and Tim were smiling softly at the scene. “I’m so glad your ok, Als,” they heard Lana mumble.

“Of course I’m ok. I’m not gonna let some deadbeat lay a finger on me,” she said and Lana pulled back. “So, you met my partner Dick huh?” She asked and Lana nodded turning to Dick and giving a small wave to Dick and Tim.

“Yeah, it was easy to identify him from all your stories, Als. And he kept givin me updates once a week,” Lana said and Dick nodded.

“Oh Lana,” Tim said and Lana looked at him curiously. “I don’t know if you heard, but thanks for bringing me my textbook and notebook I dropped,” Tim said and Lana shook her hand dismissively.

“It was no problem. I’ve heard you talk about graduating by December, so I wanted to make sure you didn’t lose anything,” she said and Tim smiled.

“Still. Thanks.” Tim said and Lana just smiled. “Have you thought about where your applying for college?” He asked and Lana nodded.

“Yup. I’m applying to Gotham University. I’m gonna get my bachelors in Criminal Justice and Journalism,” she said and Tim nodded.

“Sounds great. If you ever want, I can get ya a chance to talk to Lois Lane and Clark Kent,” he said and Lana’s eyes widened at that while Alya snickered next to her.

“What? No!”

“Yes,” Tim said while Dick shook his head.

“What are you going to major in, in College?” Lana asked.

“Business. I’m gonna be going to Gotham University too. But I’ll be on the fast track,” he said and the two looked at him curiously. “Dad is thinking of me becoming Co-CEO of WE,” he explained and they nodded at that.

“Must be honored,” Alya said sitting down on her desk while Lana took the chair.

“Eh. I’m just the best choice. Plus the only one that’s shown interest in helping run the company,” he said teasingly as he looked at Dick who shook his head. “It also helps that I’ve shadowed him and helped run the company before when he got hurt last year,” he continued and Lana nodded. Her forgotten phone rang startling them. An officer smiled as he picked up her phone and handed it over. Lana’s smile left as she looked at her phone.

“Lana?” Both Tim and Alya asked and she looked up at them.

“Oh, uh. I gotta get going. Sorry. I was hoping to hang out longer,” she said standing up and Alya frowned herself.

“What’s so important?” Alya asked and Lana bit her lip.

“Steve wants me to come over,” she said.

“Steve can wait, I haven’t seen you in 6 months,” Alya said and Lana shook her head.

“I…..don’t wanna disappoint him!” She hesitated as she spoke but then ran out of the station and Alya frowned along with half the station. Dick was frowning himself with Tim.

“I don’t like that,” Alya said at last and Dick nodded agreement.

“That was…….suspicious,” Dick agreed and Tim looked confused.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“It means, Lana’s boyfriend may be doing something bad to her,” Alya answered vaguely and Tim frowned.

“Keep us updated will you Alya?” Tim asked and Alya nodded. “I should head home now. Gotta get back to work if I’m going to graduate before December,” with that, Tim left the station while Dick and Alya discussed his current case.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Mari smiled happily as she took the ice cream from the vendor. “Anything else?” The vendor asked smiling at Mari and the Wayne boys. They shook their heads and Dick held out the amount due. The vendor waved as the group walked to the park eating their ice cream while Damian also walked Titus. Once they reached the park they sat down while Damian kept standing and threw a ball for Titus.

After a little while, the others stood up themselves having just finished their ice cream. They played with Titus for a while before heading back to the manor, it was Mari’s last day there for the summer. Mari hugged each of them one more time before taking her bag and walking to the portal. On the other side this time was Chloé and Nino standing with Fu. The two kids were waving excitedly at her as she went towards it. As soon as she crossed, the two hugged her. She waved back once more to the Wayne’s before the portal closed behind her.

_ A Blocked Owl @owlforlife _

_ Just saw the Wayne boys + #sunshinechild playing in the park with Titus. How cute. #howcute #sunshinechildputshinesthesun #thesunshouldretire #sheblesseseceryone #byjustbeinginthesamroom _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap finally! Again, sorry bout the delay you amazing readers! School was NOT kind to me these past couple months….then my laptop decided to rebel. Idk when next chap will be out tbh, gotta figure out what’s goin on with my laptop, I finished this chap on my phone. Anyways. I hope you enjoyed it! We got a couple new characters that’ll be coming back! Until next time(hopefully soon)! -Love Willa <3<3<3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap. I’m on my laptop, but idk for how long. We’ll see if it shuts down randomly a lot. If that happens, then back to my phone. No matter what, I’ll work on gettin these chaps out! Also, school threw another essay at me with NO warning. So ya, my recoverin brain just went back to its completely fried state, so sorry about the delay, again. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this new update!!

Mari cheered as she held out macarons to Tim. “I’m glad your first semester at Gotham University,” Mari said and Tim smiled.

“Thanks, Mari,” Tim said. Dick walked into the kitchen talking to Alya with Babs on his other side.

“You’re pathetic without me Dick. How? You had Batman to teach you,” Alya said and Babs laughed while Dick blushed a bit.

“Hey, I tried. But this perp is slippery ok!” Dick said.

“From what Dick has said, the perp is slippery.”

“I’ll give ya a pass this time, boy wonder,” Alya said shaking her head. “Hey, Tim. hows university treating you so far?” she turned a seat to face them while Dick leaned against the wall.

“It’s great,” Tim said and Dick leveled a look at his younger brother.

“He’s getting less sleep somehow,” Dick said and Alya laughed while Mari went over to them and handed them macarons.

“I swear Tim, you live on coffee alone,” Alya said thinking about all the stories Dick has told her about Tim not sleeping.

“So, you know their secret Alya?” Mari asked and Alya nodded.

“Yeah. One night a couple years ago, my car battery stopped and no one could come to change it till the morning. Nightwing came by and said ‘You need help Alya?’,” Alya started laughing as she shook her head. “When he realized what he said he started rambling, saying how Dick told him about me. It was easy to see. I can’t believe this lug,” she threw her thumb at Dick who looked outraged, “hasn’t outed himself and his family to the world yet.”

Everyone started laughing at that while Dick crossed his arms and pouted. “Hey!”

“She’s not wrong, babe,” Babs cut in and Dick nodded at that.

“I know she is, butterfly,” Dick said before munching on a macaron. At that, Alya snorted while shaking her head.

“So, Mari, how do you know their secret?” she asked and Mari smiled at her as she sat down.

“My grandpa Fu has me training with them every summer and sometimes during the weekends. I’m training to become the hero Ladybug!” Mari explained and a small red creature flew from Mari’s hair and went to be in front of Alya with a smile.

“Hi there, I’m Tikki, the kwami of Creation!” the small being introduced and Alya raised a hand and gave a small wave while the kwami went over and shook her finger.

“Hi, Tikki, I’m Alya,” she said as the kwami flew over to Mari and sat on her head.

“I’m surprised you aren’t more shocked, Grayson,” Damian commented looking at Alya who shook her head.

“Damian, call me Alya. You know one day you’re going to call out Grayson when me and Dick are here and we’ll both go ‘Yes?’ and that’ll be annoying. So please, just call me Alya, or Als even,” Alya said and Damian gave a small nod of understanding at that.

“I’ll be honest, I almost replied when you said Grayson, Damian,” Dick admitted with a chuckle that had everyone laughing. Jason popped in then and looked at them curiously.

“What’s everyone laughing at?” he asked as he opened the fridge and pulled out a soda and opened the can.

“I got introduced to Tikki, and Damian was asking how I wasn’t more shocked and said my last name and Dick admitted to almost responding when Damian said it,” Alya said and Jason started laughing at that.

“I don’t know what’s better. That Dick got partnered with a person who shares the same last name as him, or that said person has basically become a family friend and is now causing trouble because of their last name,” Jason commented and Alya shook her head with a laugh.

“Just imagine the chaos if my sister was also here. Then there would be  _ three _ Grayson’s to confuse,” Alya said which had everyone laughing before Tim turned to Alya with a curious look when he finished laughing.

“How is Lana by the way? I didn’t see her much during my final semester there,” he asked and Alya leaned onto her elbows and looked at her hands with a sigh.

“I’m not sure,” she said after a moment of silence. “She….seems to be hiding from me….but she sounds so excited when she answers my calls or I manage to catch her,” she said slowly, putting her clasped hands in front of her mouth. “I….I don’t like what this is pointing towards,” she finished looking over at Dick whose cheerful face had turned stony.

“What do you mean?” Damian asked while his two other brothers were frowning. They looked over at him and Alya looked at Dick who nodded along with the others.

“It means…..her boyfriend may be…..hurting her…..someway,” she said slowly and Damian frowned at that.

“Can we not help get her out of that?” he asked and Alya sighed and let Dick take over.

“It’s not that easy baby bird,” Dick said and Damian looked over at him confused. “These types of situations are…..delicate,” Dick walked over to Damian and led him from the room to tell him softly while Mari continued to frown.

“Will you be able to help her?” Mari asked and Alya gave a small, defeated shrug.

“I’m not sure. But I’ll try,” she answered and Mari nodded as Babs placed a hand on her shoulder. Alya gave a small nod towards the woman. “Why don’t we go to a happier topic?” at that, they all nodded agreement. Though Jason and Tim looked upset, they didn’t say anything. Dick and Damian came back then, Damian was scowling and sat down with Mari joining him.

“Bruce and Clark have been dating for about a year now, how long do you think it’ll take for them to get engaged? I’m thinking a few years” Babs asked and Alya laughed at that which had the others joining in.

“You really think it’ll take that long?” Alya asked and both Babs and Dick nodded.

“Yes. It took those two years to just admit they like each other. So it’s safe to assume it’ll take a while for them to get engaged. One, because Clark wouldn’t want to impose or force anything on Bruce, he wants to make sure Bruce is comfortable with everything they do. And two, Bruce is emotionally constipated,” this had Alya snorting with a few others joining, “and so he won’t really know how to go about it. So a few years is generous. For that to happen within let’s say, three years, they would probably need Lois and our help in doing that,” Dick explained and Alya nodded as she continued to laugh.

“Oh brother, that’ll be interesting to watch,” Alya remarked and they nodded at that. “How did Lois react to that by the way? She was married to Clark,” she asked and Dick nodded.

“It hurt her at first, but she could see they would be good for each other. Connor and Jon laugh every time Lois complains about how the two of them are idiots,” Dick explained and that had Alya laughing.

“That’s sweet that she’s letting the two of them be together,” Alya said smiling.

“Ya, she’s their biggest shipper it seems. Quickly followed by both cities it feels like some days,” Babs said and Alya had to nod agreement to that.

“From what it seems, the two are idiots who will take ages to get married,” Alya said before smirking at the couple in the room, “like someone else we know~” she teased out and the two blushed while Jason and Tim started laughing beside them.

“She has a point,” Jason said smirking as well and the couple in question just glared at them.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Mari was grinning while she was with Tim. They were exiting the movie theater having just seen a new movie they were interested in. As they were walking they saw Dick and Alya walking as they discussed something. It had been quite some time since they last saw the brunette. “Dick, Alya, what’s up!?” Tim shouted to catch their attention as they sped over to catch up. The two turned to them with frowns but smiled at them.

“Hey, Tim, Mari. How’s it going?” Alya greeted.

“It’s fine, what about you though?” Mari asked and Alya shared a look with Dick.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Tim asked and the two sighed.

“Nothing much. Just discussing what I missed while I helped Lana move into her dorm for college,” she explained and Tim nodded but he narrowed his eyes and Dick just mouthed ‘later’.

“Why don’t you guys get going? We have a case we need to work on and didn’t Alfred want to bake with Mari?” Dick asked and the two nodded.

“Oh! We should. See ya later, Alya, Dick!” Mari shouted and grabbed Tim’s hand and started running, barely giving Tim enough time to wave goodbye to them. They reached the manor in record time and Mari let Tim’s hand go before running towards the kitchen where he heard Alfred moving around.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Alya was scowling next to Dick when they entered the manor. Dick’s normally cheery face was set in a frown. This had the brothers worried. “What’s wrong, boy wonder?” Jason asked as Tim handed Dick his just made hot chocolate and prepared a new one. Dick took the mug and took a sip before sighing. They sat down in the kitchen, Dick leaned against the table on his elbows while Alya leaned against the chair’s back, sliding a bit with her head back.

“It’s about Lana….” Alya started after a couple minutes. This had the three frowning as they sat down at the table with their own cups. Tim slid one over to Alya and she caught it with ease.

“What about her?” Jason asked leaning against the table. They were glad Mari was with Alfred at the store then. If this was going where it sounded like it would, they didn’t want the sweet girl hearing.

“We….” she trailed off and took a sip of her drink while moving to lean onto the table, looking into her mug. “We were able to figure out that Steve’s been emotionally abusing Lana since before her sophomore year,” she said and the boys had different reactions to that, Jason and Damian were the most vocal. The two had actually growled at hearing it. “We just got….we just came from helping Lana break it off, both Dick and I scared Steve away from Gotham. She’s at my place right now, cuddling the dog I’m babysitting for my friend,” she said.

“Should Lana really be alone right now?” Jason asked and Alya narrowed her eyes at him while Dick placed a hand on both of their shoulders.

“Jay bird,” he started and Jason looked over at him while Alya sighed and looked back at her drink while sipping at it. “It’s alright. Alya knows that Lana shouldn’t be alone right now, but she can’t leave early, the big man is in a bad mood. But right now Lana has a furry companion,” he said and Alya nodded.

“And Cole should be finishing soon, so he’ll be able to comfort her until I can head home,” Alya added.

“Who’s Cole?” Jason asked with narrowed eyes and Alya narrowed hers in return.

“My boyfriend. I’ve been dating him for almost a year. He absolutely adores Lana, treats her like she’s his little sister. I trust him,” Alya said and the two nodded.

“But what about after today?” Tim asked.

“The precinct has agreed to let Lana stay there and hang with Alya and I until she’s comfortable with being by herself. They’re talking with Gordon right now to have it happen,” Dick replied and Tim nodded.

“Could we hang out with her? Mari could make some treats,” Damian asked and Alya gave a small smile at that.

“That would be nice,” she started but turned to Jason and sighed. “But it would be smart for you to not see her for a bit, Jason. I’m sorry.” Jason looked at her confused, along with Damian while Tim gave a nod at that, having a thought as to why.

“What do you mean?” Jason asked.

“Well,” she started and looked over at Dick.

“We think…..Steve did something, said something, after she met you while returning Tim’s book. He didn’t like how you two interacted. We don’t know what he said or did, but when we asked Lana if she’d like to see you guys when we finished the confrontation, she….was scared. She needs a bit of time to get over whatever he said about you,” Dick explained and Jason looked shocked at hearing that while Damian had an unreadable expression.

“I….I don’t know when she’ll be good to see you again, but it’d do her good if you don’t see her for the time being,” Alya said and Jason nodded.

“Alright, I’ll keep away until she’s not scared anymore,” Jason agreed and Alya nodded with a smile.

“Thanks,” Alya replied while both Tim and Dick patted his back.

“What’s going on here?” Mari asked as she and Alfred entered the kitchen.

“Some….not so good news about Lana,” Tim said slowly and Mari frowned at that while Alfred tilted his head.

“Is she sad?” Mari asked and they nodded since she’d probably feel sad at some point during this. “Can I make her something? Treats always brightens a persons day!” Mari said and Alya smiled at that.

“She’d like that,” Alya said and Mari beamed at that.

“Great! I’ll make some cookies for her!” With that, Mari quickly put away the items she and Alfred got and pulled out the items needed to make cookies. Tim went over to Alfred and whispered what was up while Jason stood up.

“I’ll be back,” Jason said and he went upstairs while Damian went over to Mari and handed her items she needed. Alya and Dick shared a confused look but Dick only shrugged, he was used to his brother’s seemingly random actions. Jason soon came down holding a small black box and slid it over to Alya who looked at it confused. “Mind giving her this? You don’t have to say who gave it to her,” he said and Alya gave a slight nod as she opened the box curious.

Inside was a necklace, connecting the two chains was a silver dagger pendant with three stone, two in the hilt area and one on the blade. “What’s this about?” Alya asked and Jason looked away with a shrug.

“A friend talked about some crystals, that one,” he pointed to a small stone that was black, blue, and green that rested on the top part of the crossguard, “is labradorite,” he then pointed to the bottom of the crossguard at a black stone, “that is black tourmaline, and that,” he then pointed to a purple crystal that rested on the blade near the crossguard, “is amethyst. They provide different protection to people. I don’t particularly believe in them, but I originally got it for Mari to help her, but I think she won’t mind it going to Lana. Right, Mari?” Jason turned to the girl who was smiling at him while the others were smirking in some way.

“I don’t mind at all! Crystals can really help someone, provide hope. This could really benefit Lana,” she said and Alya smiled with a nod as she closed the box.

“I’ll be sure to give it to her as soon as possible,” Alya said gently putting the box into her purse and finished her drink. “The hot chocolate was delicious Tim,” Alya stated as she stood up with Dick following.

“See you in a few hours, we should really get going,” Dick agreed. They then left the kitchen while hearing Damian, Tim, and Mari saying ‘ooh’ and Jason shouting.

“It’s not like that!” Jason shouted while Tim gave him a look.

“Uh-huh. Sure,” Tim said with a smirk and Jason glared at his younger brother. Mari was smirking as she finished mixing the cookie dough and started putting it onto cookie sheets. Damian was smirking at Jason as well but didn’t say anything. Mari was putting the trays into the oven while Tikki ate some cookie dough.

“You got it bad,” Mari mumbled which caused Jason to sputter.

“No, I don’t!” Jason yelled as he left the kitchen. Tim and Mari laughed while Alfred shook his head fondly. Damian continued smirking.

“I soo won’t let him live this down,” Tim said and Mari started laughing at that.

“Did either of you want to join me in dropping these off?” Mari asked as she got out a container before going to wash the things she used while waiting for the cookies to cook.

“Sure,” Damian said and Mari smiled while Tim shook his head.

“You go ahead. I have some stuff I need to work on,” Tim said as he got up and headed towards the stairs and to his office.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Mari beamed at them as she waved goodbye to the Wayne’s, Clark, and Alya. Clark had an arm around Bruce and Alya stood to the side. This time, Chloe and Nino had brought Kim with them and they were waiting in front of the portal with big smiles. Mari ran over to the three and hugged them tightly. “I hope you had a good time,” Kim said and Mari nodded.

“Yeah! Maybe you guys can join me here!” Mari said and they nodded agreement.

“Any friend of Mari’s can visit us with her,” Bruce said and the three smiled.

“Thanks, dude!” Nino called out.

“See ya again, sunshine. Don’t get into trouble!” Alya shouted which the others nodded agreement to.

“Will do!” Mari shouted as they went through the portal.

_ Alster <3 @Bi_Arrow _

_ #sunshinechild is awesome. Had a great time hanging with her when I was with the Wayne’s. Can’t wait for next time and @proudgothamite I’ll take ya with. Only when you’re ready though. Hope you liked the gift from a friend ;) _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the next chap. I hope you enjoyed it, I had a fun time writing this, we got more Alya and Lana! Well, Alya. You guys got more info on what’s happenin with Lana. So, the next chap, i’ll be honest, idk how long it’ll take. Cause this comin week is the final week of this sems college classes and i have a final. So ya. That MAY fry my brain and cause a delay. We’ll see thou. Anyways, LUV YA!! ~Willa <3<3<3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap. I’m glad you guys enjoyed the last chap! Sorry about the delay, some stuff happened and I just….went into a rut not doing much of anything. But hey, the next chap is finally out now! I hope you guys enjoy this chap too!! Also, Mari is 14 now, just thought i’d tell ya in case you forgot, I know I did. lol.

“This is totally awesome, dudette!” Nino said looking around the manor’s inside in awe. Kim was in a similar state while Chloe just nodded.

“You’ve been coming here every summer since you were 10?” Kim asked in disbelief and Mari nodded. “Wow,” was all he could say.

“Yeah,” Mari said as she led them up the stairs and to their rooms.

“When you want to, we’ll teach you how to defend yourselves,” Jason called.

“But not Jay, he’ll have you cussing! He did that to Mari!” Dick yelled quickly after.

“I said I was sorry!” Jason yelled which had the four laughing.

“He got you to cuss?” Kim asked shocked and Mari nodded sheepishly.

“Yeah. I know cuss words, but they only come out when I’m very angry,” she said.

“Alright, dudette. Now we know to duck for cover if you ever cuss,” Nino said and Mari looked bashful while Chloe laughed and wrapped her arm around the bluenette’s shoulders.

“Don’t worry Mari-bear. I doubt anyone will have you cussing,” Chloe replied as Mari showed Kim and Nino their rooms. All their rooms were near hers. She then showed Chloe her room, which just happened to be next to her own room.

“We’re right next to each other!” Mari said with a smile that Chloe returned.

“Amazing,” she said as she entered the room to put her luggage down and unpacked for the summer.

“This summer will be awesome,” Mari replied leaning against the doorway and looked between Chloe, Nino, and Kim with a smile.

“It will be, dudette!” Nino called out as he put away clothes.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

“That-that was intense, dudes,” Nino said panting for breath. He was on the floor, tired beyond belief. Kim was in a slightly better state, he was sitting upright but was leaning on his arms. Chloe was right beside Nino on the floor breathing heavily. Only Mari wasn’t affected.

“Intense?” Mari repeated with a baffled smile and looked at Dick who looked to be trying to avoid laughing.

“That was the beginner’s workout and training,” Dick said and at their faces, the two started laughing. Mari’s friends weakly glared at the two.

“I’m sorry for laughing,” Mari said as her laughs died down. “But come on. Not even Kim could handle it!” she said and that had them chuckling softly too.

“Don’t worry. By the end of summer, you’ll be doing this workout and training with ease. You’ll be doing the intermediate stuff in no time!” Dick said cheerfully.

“Dick!” Tim shouted as he ran into the cave and they looked over at him. He was practically bouncing when he arrived next to Dick and hugged him tightly. “Thank you!” he said and Dick smiled and hugged Tim back.

“As much as I like this hug, it should go to Mari. She’s the one that made it happen,” Dick said and Tim nodded and pulled Mari into a hug and swung her around, causing the small teen to laugh.

“Thank you, Mari! You’re the best!” Tim said and the others looked confused while Mari smiled at Tim.

“You’re welcome, Tim,” she said as Nino pushed himself up. Tim finally set Mari back on her feet.

“What did Mari do?” Nino asked and the three beamed at the confused friends.

“She helped Kon!” Tim said which didn’t help their confusion at all. Mari laughed as she patted Tim’s shoulder.

“Let me. Go hang with Kon. You guys have a lot to catch up on,” she said and Tim nodded, giving her one more hug before booking it upstairs. She turned to her friends and smiled. “Tim has a best friend named Connor that was hurt. Professionals couldn’t help him,” she started.

“Why couldn’t they?” Chloe asked.

“Well, one: he was injured during a mission and in a way that professionals wouldn’t know what to do. Two: Connor’s part Kryptonian. So because of that, Tikki helped me heal him,” she explained and that had her friends sitting up looking at them excitedly.

“He’s Kryptonian?” Kim asked and Mari nodded.

“Yes. He’s Clark’s clone that Lex made. So Kon’s biology is different than had he been born normally. But despite that, he acts perfectly normal,” Dick explained and Mari sent a look.

“Not when you guys first rescued him,” Mari countered and Dick nodded at that.

“Ok,  _ after _ spending time with other people and us teaching him, he acts perfectly normal,” Dick conceded and Mari laughed.

“Dick rescued him? How old is he?” Nino asked confused and the two shared a look and shrugged.

“Physically, he looks like a teen, like 16 years old. We don’t think about when he was made,” Dick explained and that had them confused.

“Why?” Kim asked this time, though he was a bit cautious in asking.

“It’s because we have no clue on when they made him. There wasn’t any info on how long it took for him to be made. For all we know, he was made 10 years before we found him, or he could have been made months before we found him,” Dick explained and everyone nodded at that.

“That makes sense,” Chloe said standing up.

“Yeah. Go get cleaned up. We’ll meet you guys in a bit,” Mari said and the three nodded and trudged upstairs to the manor to wash up.

“Want to go a bit longer?” Dick asked and Mari nodded with a smirk.

“Duh. They would freak if they saw what I normally do right now,” Mari said and Dick laughed as he and Mari went to the trapeze equipment to work on some new moves.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Mari giggled as she watched Chloe blush while talking to Kon’s younger brother Jon. Kon was smirking as he looked at the two while Tim resisted laughing. Damian was shaking his head while watching them talk, Nino and Kim were talking with them too. They waited for anything Chloe asked to be finished before asking something themselves. But that didn’t stop them from subtly teasing the blonde. “Is this what you call a crush?” Damian asked quietly and Mari nodded.

“Yup. Chlo has it bad,” Mari said giggling.

“I think Jon may have a crush too. But it’s hard to tell,” Damian said and Mari nodded agreement.

“It is hard to tell,” Mari whispered back, looking at Jon who was talking excitedly to the three. “Maybe Kon will learn if he does,” she suggested.

“Why would I not?” Damian asked and Mari looked over at him.

“You’re still learning normal human connections. Not to mention. When someone has a crush, they almost always tell a sibling first, especially if the sibling asks or pushes. After they would tell a friend. But that’s from experience for me. Most of the time, they regret it as the two teams up to put the two together. Or explain why that crush is a bad idea,” Mari said, remembering a couple of friends that had that happen. “But hey, maybe Jon will tell you.”

Damian scowled at Mari, he knew her logic was sound. But he could also tell that the last one was said sarcastically. He stuck his tongue out at Mari which had her laughing as she gently pushed Damian. A smirk graced Damian’s lips as he pushed Mari back.

“-not really. They’re still inching around each other,” Dick’s voice carried through the manor, quickly followed by a snort.

“Thanks for telling me this. This is hilarious,” another voice said, Alya most knew. The two came into the room and waved to everyone.

“Who’s that?” Kon asked and Alya looked at him with her head tilted.

“You look like Jon,” Alya said and Kon nodded.

“He’s my little brother. Connor,” he introduced holding his hand out and Alya shook his hand.

“Nice to meet you, Connor. I’m Alya,” she introduced.

“How do you-?” Kon trialed off and Alya smiled.

“Work. I’m Dick’s partner,” she explained and Kon nodded.

“Partner?” he asked and Alya looked questioningly at Dick who just shrugged.

“They’re Detective’s for the GPD and often work together. So they’re typically called partners because of that,” Tim explained and Kon nodded at that. Alya smiled before turning to the others.

“Let’s see if I remember your names,” Alya said looking at the three smiling. She looked at Chloe with a smirk. “Loves the color yellow, Chloe,” she said and the girl nodded, she then turned to Kim. “Loves competing...Kim,” she said and the boy nodded and struck a pose, causing everyone to laugh. She then turned to Nino with a smile. “And that leaves you, loves playing music, Nino,” she finished with a nod and Nino nodded.

“Only met us once, and you already know us,” Nino replied laughing and Alya nodded along with a laugh.

“Well, Mari did talk about you three. It’d be more shocking if I didn’t know you,” Alya replied before turning to Dick and patting his shoulder. “Alright, I gotta go. Lana should be done with her appointment and I wanna quickly talk to the therapist,” Alya said and Dick nodded understanding.

“Ok, give her a hug from me,” Dick said and Alya nodded.

“Are you allowed to talk to her therapist?” Kim asked and Alya turned to him.

“Therapists can’t share what was talked about in the sessions. But I wanted to see if she’s making progress in healing,” Alya replied.

“Then why did you come here?” Nino asked and Alya chuckled while Dick looked away embarrassed.

“This chucklehead lost his keys and found them locked in his car. We called in Triple-A to get his keys out. The guy then locked his keys in his van and called in another worker. By the time he got his keys out, his car battery died. So Triple-A towed his car to a repair shop and I drove him there first before taking him back home. His car won’t be done till after work tomorrow,” Alya said chuckling. At that, everyone started laughing while Dick hunched down in embarrassment.

“It’s not that funny!” he said.

“No, it is, Dickie-boy,” Jason called walking into the room holding a cup of coffee. Dick groaned exaggeratedly and left the room. “Hey, Als,” Jason called and Alya smiled over at him.

“Hey, Jay,” she greeted then turned to wave to everyone. “See you guys later,” she then started toward the door but paused next to Jason. “Just so you know, Lana loves the necklace, wears it every day. It’s helped her a lot. Thank you. And she still doesn’t know who got it for her,” Alya said gratefully and started walking to the door again. When she was partway through, she smirked at Jason. “Can’t wait till she’s good to see you, then she’ll learn who got her it!” she called out before leaving and Jason sputtered before running toward the door after setting his coffee down hurriedly.

“What the fuck do you mean, Als! Don’t you dare!” his voice echoed as he ran to the door and out. Everyone was as they watched Jason frantically run after Alya.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

By the end of the summer, Chloe, Nino, and Kim were indeed able to do the beginner’s workout with ease. During that time, Connor, Jon, and Alya often visited the manor and talked to them. Only once though did all but Jason go to Alya’s place to meet/visit Lana and Cole. While Cole visited them a few times after, Lana didn’t. She liked them, but she needed time still to heal. They were confused but understood when Alya said why.

This time, it was only Dick, Damian, Jason, and Alya there to see the four back to Paris. Tim and Bruce had to deal with things at WE but had made sure to say goodbye before leaving. Clark was doing an article with Lois in Metropolis. Cole said he wanted to be there, but Lana needed him then. Alya would have been there with her, but her and Dick’s captain only gave them time to see them off. So right after they head through the portal, they needed to head to the precinct.

“See you again, Mari!” Alya said with a smile.

“Stay out of trouble, pixie-pop.”

“Don’t hesitate to call us!”

“Until next time,” Damian said as he hugged Mari tightly before letting her go.

Mari and her friends hugged them and said goodbye one last time before the portal opened up. Fu was waiting with a smile, beside him was Sabine holding some pastries on a tray. “Mama!” Mari yelled and ran toward her mom and hugged her tightly while her friends laughed bringing her bags with them. “See you soon!” Mari shouted as the portal closed.

But at that moment, Gabriel was returning from Tibet with the butterfly brooch and the desperation to figure out how to save his wife.

_ Cole Love @theatrekid _

_ Hanging with my gf’s little sister rn and having a great time. Met #sunshinechild and her friends, was blessed from it. #sunshineincarnated #shessopure *Cole hugging Lana to his side while Mari and her friends are in front of them in different poses* _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap!! Sorry this took so long. Life sorta made it hard. I can only hope it won’t take as long to do the other chaps, but I don’t know. We’ll see. Anyways, I hope you liked it!! See you next time! -Love Willa <3<3<3


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap! Sorry bout the wait, most of it was cause I was writin a fic that ended up bein scrapped. Ya, not fun. It was the little mermaid au I talked bout briefly in the fic I posted. Then I sorta got sucked into a few new ships. And then life(or would it be considered mind/brain?) happened once more. Heh, life really enjoys buttin in huh? But no matter, here’s the next chap and Mari is officially Ladybug to Paris! (Ok, so here Adrien is going to be chaotic, he’s seen that his father is actually breaking laws and holds that over him to do what he wants finally. Later on I will explain what will be happening with Lila ok?, k). I hope you enjoy the chap!!  
Chat here is based off this: https://unmaskedagain.tumblr.com/post/189337423122/chaotic-chat

Mari had been hoping for a peaceful first day of school. But apparently, fate decided against that. She scowled as she watched the stone beings walk around. Nino and Kim were next to her, they were nervous but ready to help. “Did any of you see what got hit?”

“I...I think it was a piece of paper,” Kim replied and Mari nodded. She looked around and saw they were alone.

“Got it. Tikki, spots on!” Mari shouted and quickly changed into Ladybug. Her suit was looser being all black. She had knee-high red boots that had black spots placed strategically to not overwhelm. A cropped red jacket that was always zipped only went to her elbows also with black spots placed strategically. Finally, she had black gloves with red fingers and a red mask with five black spots. She pulled her yo-yo off her hip and threw it out the window and went to find the first stone being, Stoneheart.

As she swung around trying to find him, she saw a black figure walking on top of the roofs. She lands in front of him, startling the boy. “So, you’re my partner, Ladybug,” she introduced holding a hand out to the boy.

“Uh, Chat Noir at your service M’lady,” Chat said and Ladybug rolls her eyes.

“Uh-huh. You know what to do?” she asked.

“Take down the bad guy and I have the ability to destroy anything I touch,” Chat said and Ladybug nodded.

“You can, but you need to  _ remember _ you only have one chance to use it and after you have 5 minutes before detransforming,” Ladybug said, having a feeling that Plagg may have not told him everything. “These bad guys, aren’t bad guys, Chat. They’re innocent people being used by the real bad guy. So don’t be reckless or try to permanently hurt them. Got it?”

“Got it,” Chat agreed and they started running trying to find Stoneheart who also had Mylene and Chloe captive. They find Stoneheart on the Eiffel Tower, police had set a perimeter and were trying to get Stoneheart to let the girls go. The mayor was even pleading for Stoneheart to return his daughter.

“You want her? You can have her!” Stoneheart shouted and threw Chloe. Chloe screamed as she flew through the air. She was used to it when with Dick and the others above a net with things to help her. But here, she had nothing to help her. And she didn’t know where Ladybug was.

“Chloe!” Ladybug shouted as she swung to the girl and caught her. She landed on the bridge on one knee, sliding towards the police cars a few feet. “You ok?” Chloe nodded hesitantly.

“Y-yeah. I-I’m going to get a grappling fun or something. Don’t want to be in that again,” Chloe said and Ladybug nodded.

“That would probably be smart. You can text Tim and ask him to make you one,” Ladybug replied and Chloe nodded agreement. There was a choking noise and they watched as Stoneheart shocked and tons of butterflies left him and formed a presumably Hawkmoths head.

“People of Paris, listen carefully. I am Hawk Moth.” the head began.

“Hawkmoth?” Ladybug asked sharing a look with Chat who said it at the same time.

“Ladybug, Chat Noir, give me the ladybug earrings and the black cat ring. You don’t want to make these people suffer more than they have too?” he asked and Ladybug slowly clapped walking forward.

“Nice try, Hawkmoth, but we know who the bad guy is. Let's not reverse the roles here. Without you, none of these innocent victims would be transformed into villains. Hawkmoth, no matter how long it takes, we will find you, and YOU will hand us YOUR Miraculous!” Using her yo-yo, Ladybug jumped up to where the butterfly swarm was. “Time to de-evilize!” She swung her yo-yo and caught every butterfly and turned to look at the people who were watching shocked. “Let me make this promise to you. No matter who wants to harm you, Ladybug and Cat Noir will do everything in our power to keep you safe!” she opened up the yo-yo and held it up. All the butterflies flew out, going in every direction, going into cameras. People cheered but stopped when Stoneheart got up. He yelled before climbing up the Eiffel Tower until he reached the very top, hanging from the tip.

The two swung up after him and Ladybug and Chat landed above him. “Lucky Charm!” She swung her yo-yo up into the air and a parachute landed in her hands. She and Chat shared a look.

“A parachute?” he asked confused and she could only shrug. She looked around and snapped a finger. “Got an idea?”

“Get ready to catch, Ivan,” she said and Chat nodded. Ladybug swung her yo-yo around Stoneheart and onto the first holding both Mylene and the object. She pulled and Mylene’s lips pressed against Stoneheart. Stoneheart gasped out letting go of Mylene and the object. Chat hit the object with his baton over to Ladybug. She grabbed the object and crushed it. She then dived off the tower and caught Mylene and threw her yo-yo up to catch the akuma. She pulled the cord and the parachute opened.

Meanwhile, Chat jumped down and caught Ivan quickly. He then got them down safely after ladybug and Mylene landed. “Bye-bye, little butterfly!” She said opening her yo-yo and the white butterfly flew out.

The people that were there still cheered as everyone changed back to normal shortly after. “What about all the damage?” Chat asked and Ladybug smirked.

“Miraculous Ladybug!” Ladybug shouted as she tossed up the parachute. Millions of ladybugs left the item and swirled all over Paris, fixing all the damage done by Stoneheart and his minions.

“Whoa!” Chat exclaimed watching as they went about fascinated. The people near them shared the same sentiment. Mylene and Ivan nodded thanks to them before turning to each other and talking quietly. “Pound it!” Chat said excitedly and holding a fist out to Ladybug who then hit it with her own. They smiled at each other until beeping happened.

“Bug out!” she called and threw her yo-yo and swung off. Chat followed after her as his ring started beeping as well. “Chat, we can’t know each other’s identities!” Ladybug said when they both landed on the roof of Mari’s home.

“Don’t care,” was all he said before detransforming in front of her. In front of her was Adrien Agreste, the new student that missed the first day of class. She pinched her nose and sighed.

“I’m so proud of you, kit,” Plagg said floating in front of Adrien who had a smug smirk on his face. Ladybug let her transformation fall as well and Tikki flew in front of her.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Tikki said looking disappointed but Plagg just shrugged.

“Ok, fine. What do we do Tikki?” Mari looked over at Tikki who gave a small shrug and hum.

“Well, we will just need to hide it from Master Fu. You were bound to find out about Chat’s identity eventually since you’re training to become a Guardian. It’s only Chat that shouldn’t have known,” Tikki explained.

“But how come? Doesn’t that seem a bit unfair that I can know but he can’t?” she asked and Tikki and Plagg shared a look.

“I don’t know. This hasn’t exactly happened before. Especially since you two cannot be akumatized under any circumstances since it’d be dangerous for your family and friends,” Tikki replied and the two heroes shared a look.

“Well, knowing each others identities will help. We can help keep each other calm, and perhaps help each other with excuses when an Akuma happens,” Mari said and Adrien nodded agreement. “We should get back to class now.”

“Oh, we should,” Adrien agreed.

“Yup, and you can meet three other people who know about me,” Mari said walking them out of her family’s apartment and through the back door. They walked up toward the school when Mari looked over at Adrien curiously. “Aren’t you a model for your father?” she asked and Adrien nodded.

“I was. Then I figured out my dad was breaking child labor laws and whatnot. So, I’m holding that over his head to be able to do what I want finally,” Adrien explained as they entered the school and went to their classroom.

“Ah, ok,” Mari replied as they entered the classroom. Ivan and Mylene hadn’t arrived yet. Alya was grumbling in her seat, she had only managed to get little footage of the villain and heroes before getting stuck behind a car. Chloe looked sorta shaken still. “Nino knows, sit next to him. Chloe needs me,” she said and Adrien nodded and sat next to Nino in the front. Chloe and Mari sat behind them, Mari watched silently as Nino and Adrien fist pumped.

“Hey,” she said softly and pulled Chloe toward her. Chloe hugged her tightly, tensed up, ready to bolt. She gently hummed under her breath and ran a hand up and down Chloe’s arm. Ms. Bustier came in then and shakely began class.

The class was done soon and Mari took her friends, and Adrien, to the bakery. She led them upstairs and into her room where they all sat down. Tikki flew out and Plagg did the same. The others nodded at that. “So Adrien is Chat, figures,” Chloe said rolling her eyes and Adrien just smiled at her.

“Yup. Broke the one rule we had. But no matter, I should tell em what happened,” Mari said and they nodded as she pulled out her phone and started dialing.

“Who?” Adrien asked.

“Friends in Gotham that trained her. They’re friends of the Guardian,” Nino explained and Adrien nodded at that.

“Hey, Damian. Can you get your family gathered? I’d rather only say this once,” Mari said once he picked up the phone. “Hey, ya. I have some news about Paris. The Butterfly Miraculous is now active. Do you think you can monitor the situation and make sure any hero that wants to come has permission from me, ok?” she hummed as she heard the response. “Thank you. Ya, don’t worry, I will,” Mari replied with a smile.

“Who were you talking to Marinette?” Adrien asked tilting his head. Mari smirked as she looked at him.

“No one else outside this house, including my parents and the Guardian, know about them and their secret. So  _ do not tell anyone, got it? _ ” she said and Adrien nodded, slightly scared. He could tell that he’d regret it if he crossed Mari. “I was talking to the Wayne’s, aka, batfamily. I’m only telling you this since you would probably join me in my usual weekend visit for training. They typically join me too,” Mari said gesturing to the other three and Adrien nodded.

“Ok, got it,” Adrien replied and Mari smiled.

“Good. Now, we’ll start with the basics then.”

_ Cracked but Healing @proudgothamite _

_ Proud to say I’m doing better now! Bee here has helped a lot! Alster is proud and says she has a surprise in store. Kinda wary, but I trust her! Thank you everyone helping! #thankyousomuch #stillhealing #butwaybetternow #whatdoesntkillyou #makesyoustronger *pale red head smiling hugging a pale black haired girl with brown eyes, both smiling happily with a college behind them* _

_ Tagged @BumbleBiBee _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap finally! Just in case you were confused(cause tbh, i was a little myself before i remembered) rn Mari is 14 almost 15. Like, im going with her bday is in a few months. I’ll do a few more time skip chaps until Mari is 16. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it. Next chap will be a little purely because I’m writin two one-shot fics for a new ship I got(tech two but eh. One is only one time) but I do hope you enjoy em too! -Love Willa<3<3<3


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so that other fic I was talkin bout? Fell thru. Lost inspo for it. Maybe i’ll get the inspo back, we’ll see. But, here’s the next the chap!! So, Mari is NOW 15. I’ll do a few chaps of her bein 15 tho n dealin with HM’s douchiness. Also, Lila appears, but this isn’t canon Lila. I don’t remember who or where I saw this idea, but basically, Mari’s nonna took Mari with her to Italy and she met Lila. Long story short, they became best friends. Lila is an inspiring actress n deals with her mother sorta abusing her thru neglect. So that comes into play here. I hope that makes sense. So, I hope you enjoy this new chap!!

“Lila!” Mari shouted happily and ran over to her Italian friend. The Italian grinned and ran over to Mari and the two hugged inside the bakery. “What are you doing here? I thought your mother was going to England,” Mari asked and Lila shrugged in response.

“I’m not sure. The embassy decided to send her here instead. And, I’ll be going to your school, Mari!” she said excitedly.

“No way!” Mari beamed at that. She then dragged her friend up to her room.

“So, I saw the short film your class made,” Lila began as Mari started braiding Lila’s hair. Lila undid the small sides and braided them as she talked. Mari hummed when she heard that. “I was wondering, could we do a film together?”

Mari’s fingers paused briefly at the question but went back to work. “I don’t see why not. We just gotta ask Nino and Max. What would it be about?” Mari asked as she tied off the braid and Lila turned to her.

“Well, I remember the stories you said about the school not doing anything about bullying when we were younger. Is that still happening?” she asked with a tilt of her head.

“Yeah. not so much in our classroom. But, ya. Chloe’s been getting evidence for a couple of years now,” Mari replied and Lila smirked.

“Well then. We make a movie about it. But they don’t know. We get permission from the whole staff and parents and videotape everything that happens.”

“What do you mean they don’t know?” Mari asked as Lila sat down next to Mari and crossed her legs on the chaise.

“We have a few people that have scripted lines, but its mostly outlines. The rest is improved. They say what they feel is real. As for the staff. We tell them we’re making a film, but need to be recording a lot, explain that it happens during class. But we don’t tell them what it’s  _ about _ . Especially not Damocles and Bustier. Only tell a few teachers we trust what’s going on,” Lila explained and Mari nodded at that.

“And it would be shown to the school board with Chloe’s evidence?” Mari asked and Lila nodded. “Ok, let’s do it.”

“Ok, so the basis is that I’m a new student at the school. But I lie about everything. Only a few people know that. And one of them knows because I lie about being friends with Ladybug, she knows cause she  _ is _ Ladybug and has never met me. The others saw the confrontation and know. And so, they try outing me but with a few sugary words, the principal and teacher don’t do anything to me and get angry at the victim, as they’ve always been doing,” Lila said and Mari nodded.

“Ok, before we start casting the few main characters with lines, we should ask Nino and Max if they’re ok with filming and then get permission,” Mari added and Lila nodded agreement. “Ok, I’ll call them over and we can ask them.” Mari picked up her phone and got the two to come over quickly, with Chloe, Kim, and Adrien following behind.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

They were able to get the two to agree quickly and asked that principal after that. Thinking the film would help their reputation, Damocles agreed quickly and made sure all the staff knew what would be happening. So then, it was just figuring out who would be the main characters. “So, Adrien, would you mind being the one my character is trying to win over?” Lila asked and Adrien smiled.

“I don’t see why not,” he replied and Lila smiled.

“Great! Mari, could you be the girl that’s actually Ladybug?” Lila asked turning to Mari who looked embarrassed while the others sans Max snickered.

“W-why me?” Mari asked and Lila just beamed at Mari.

“Because! You’re so kind and helpful just like Ladybug! Please!?” Lila asked and Mari looked at her friends who nodded agreement. Even the ones that  _ knew _ were agreeing with Lila.

“It’ll be fu~un,” Chloe said in a sing-song voice. Mari groaned, rolling her head back and looked at the ceiling.

“Fine. How’d we go about it?” she asked and Lila cheered.

“It’ll be very simple! If we can, it’d be amazing to have Ladybug help do this,” Lila said and the four friends smirked at Mari.

“Oh, I think Mari can get her to agree,” Chloe replied and Lila smiled with a nod.

“Of course. Anyways, during moments when Ladybug is needed, like when I first lie and Ladybug comes to out me, Mari will be nearby talking a little and then find somewhere to hide and the real Ladybug will appear to tell me off and then go back to the alley Mari’s waiting in. So that’s how it’ll go. Whenever Ladybug is needed, Mari will hide somewhere and Ladybug will appear. Of course, though, we can’t get Ladybug to do every scene or be recorded leaving the place Mari went,” Lila explained and the group nodded.

“Who else?” Mari asked and Lila hummed.

“Chloe would make sense as another person that knows,” Lila began and Chloe nodded agreement. “Adrien, would you mind being the other? The one that my character tries impressing?” she asked and Adrien smiled as he shook his head.

“I’m fine with that. It could even help me,” Adrien replied and Lila tilted her head in thought.

“How so?” she asked.

“My dad hasn’t exactly been following child labor laws. He’s been trying to find a way to get me to do what he wants again. This....this would help him dig his own grave,” Adrien said and Lila smirked.

“Oh, that sounds great. He won’t get away with that,” Lila replied and the group smiled at that.

“I’m all for helping take down Mr. Agreste. Now, did you want to lie about some celebrities? Cause we would need to tell them what was up since not everyone will know we’re filming a movie,” Mari said and Lila nodded.

“Yeah, we don’t want them to get hurt. Or try suing me. That doesn’t sound fun,” Lila agreed. “Are there any you’d recommend?”

“Well, I personally know Jagged Stone, Clara Nightingale, the Wayne’s and I’ve met Prince Ali. But I don’t talk to him much, plus he’s really busy. So if I get those two to agree you can do some lies regarding them. Prince Ali, perhaps just talk about helping in a few of his family’s charities. Nothing big, but it implies that you help,” Mari said and Lila nodded.

“That sounds great! How do you know them?” Lila asked and Mari blushed while her friends smiled happily at her. Only Max was also curious.

“She’s designed and helped Jagged, Clara, and Ali. Ali will occasionally call to see if she could design a logo, but that’s not often. The first two regularly commission items. The Wayne’s are a family friend. Or maybe mo~re,” Chloe explained and Mari’s blush deepened a bit.

“That’s sooo cool!” Lila gushed grabbing Mari’s hands and shaking them. “And what do you mean by that, Chloe?” she asked, a slightly teasing tone in her voice.

“It looks like Mari-bug here has a small crush on Bruce’s youngest son, Damian,” Chloe replied.

“And it seems it might be returned!” Kim added happily. Mari’s blush deepened once more.

“Guys!” Mari whined out and they just smirked at her.

“You go ask them if it’s ok while Max sends out the email to the class saying what’s going on,” Chloe said and Mari nodded agreement. Max pulled out a laptop and got to work while Mari stood up and walked away to talk.

“They’re ok with it! Just don’t do too much, ok? Just tell mostly white little lies. We don’t want to risk their reputation,” Mari explained and Lila nodded understanding.

“Sounds good. What lies would Jagged be ok with?” Lila asked as Mari went to her computer and opened up her mail.

“He’s ok with most anything. But the one thing that you would  _ have _ to get permission for is saying he wrote a song for you. That’s something that can hurt him. Especially if the supposed song isn’t known about by your mother. So for that one, if you so wish, do that one in private, to be really safe, only use that one for one of us. Ok?” Mari replied and Lila nodded.

“Ok, that’s fair,” Lila replied and looked over Mari’s shoulders. “What’s that?” Mari glanced over at Lila before looking at the email once more.

“Their lawyers sent this. It’s an agreement of sorts. It allows us to mention and lie about them as long as we agree to keep the lies fairly simple. Should a lie get out to the public, either party that is asked about it is to immediately say it is a lie made up for a film we students are making. The people who’ve agreed to let us do this have already signed to it. We just have to sign it ourselves and send it back to them. We also need to keep a detailed record of any and every lie said to make sure once the film is done, we can dispute any lies spread from overhearing the filming,” Mari explained as the papers printed. The group nodded understanding at that.

“Who all needs to sign it? I highly doubt we all need to sign it,” Chloe asked and Mari nodded.

“The lawyers ask that the directors, filmers, and the person saying the lies sign it. For extra, I will sign it too. Adrien, would you mind signing it too?” she turned to the blonde in question and he nodded agreement.

“Marinette, a lawyer needs to be present when this is signed to make it legally binding, otherwise any one of us could not heed to it,” Max said and Mari nodded slowly at that.

“True. But I trust everyone here to heed it,” Mari replied and Max nodded at that. “Did you put in the email to not actively talk about the lies in public where anyone can hear?”

“Yes, I figured that would be good. Do you wish to read over the email before I send it out?” Max asked as he turned the laptop toward Mari.

“Sure, here, sign these while I look it over,” Mari said handing the papers to the four. As they each signed the papers, Mari went through the email and made sure it said everything important to know. “Ok, this looks good Max. Go ahead and send it.” Mari handed Max his laptop and took the papers back and quickly signed them before scanning them once more.

“There. We’re all ready for Monday,” Max said and Mari smiled as she finished sending the copies back.

“Good. I’m going to give these to my parents for safekeeping,” Mari replied and they nodded and started talking while she left her room.

“This’ll be interesting,” Tikki whispered as they made their way to her parents in the bakery.

“It will be. But it’ll be good. The school needs a wake-up call,” Mari said and Tikki nodded her agreement. They soon reached the bakery and Mari smiled at her parents. “Maman, Papa,” she greeted and the two smiled at her.

“What is it, sweetie?” Sabine asked leaning against the counter as a break appeared in the bakery.

“My friends are filming a movie that has some celebrities being mentioned. We signed a disclosure for safety and I thought you’d know the safest place for our copy,” Mari replied and her parents smiled.

“Of course, dear. I’ll call our lawyer over and he can hold onto it,” Tom said taking the papers from Mari and setting them on the clean counter next to the phone.

“Thank you, papa,” Mari said pressing a kiss to her parent’s cheeks before running back upstairs.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

“Father, Mari is planning on bringing her partner here when she next visits,” Damian called walking into the Batcave where Bruce was sitting at the computer there working.

“Thank you for the heads-up, Damian. Has Mari gotten any intel that could help pinpoint Hawkmoth’s location?” Bruce asked turning to his son who simply shook his head.

“Not yet. They haven’t encountered anything that could possibly help. But if she or one of her friends does, they’ll email it over as soon as possible,” Damian replied and Bruce nodded at that.

“Alright. Was that all, Damian?” Bruce asked and Damian nodded.

“It was, father. I’ll be going now.” With that, Damian left the cave to find Jon to talk.

_ Mari-aculous @MDC_Designs _

_ Had a great time with my friends! Made some new designs and made plans to make a film. This is gonna be great! Got ice cream to celebrate! #awesome #thisllbegreat #icecream *selfie of Mari holding ice cream with Chloe and Adrien hugging her with Lila, Nino, Kim, and Max holding their own with big smiles looking silly behind them* _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap! That was pretty quick. Don’t get used to this, who knows how often this’ll happen. This was fun. So I hope you like my take on Lila in this. Don’t get me wrong, I hate canon Lila with a passion. But this isn’t canon Lila. Tho there WILL be class salt here. You’ll see, hehehehehehe. Anyways, I hope you liked it and until next time!! -Love Willa<3<3<3


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap! So, Mari is 15, been a couple months since Lila came to France. So Volpina already happened ok? I was thinkin bout doing it but I like doing this time skip where the chaps aren’t close to each other. Especially since in a few chaps, it’s going to be basically close to each other the chaps. I hope that makes sense. I will try doing one of Lila’s akumatizations tho. I promise! Also, so I made an Akuma, who was made because her little girl was killed. Just thought I’d give a warning. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chap!!

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” The devastated scream echoed down the street. People ran down the street screaming in fear themselves. Some people turned in that direction to see the new victim and ran themselves to safety. With a wave, feathers flew at people, the ones they hit fell to the ground. People cried out.

Coming down the street pushing cars away from her was a woman. The woman’s hair was pitch black flowing down her back. Her skin was pale gray while her eyes were a deep unnatural blue. Blue, teardrop-shaped glass laid next to her eyes. Tears fell from her eyes when they hit the ground, it cracked the ground. Wrapped around her body was a deep gray dress. Hanging on her neck was a silver chain with a silver heart pendant with a purple tint. It had one sleeve that billowed behind her. Her feet were bare and pure white wings were behind her. The sun was almost down behind her, causing an orange glow around her.

“If I can’t have my family, then no one shall either!” the Akuma yelled, pushing cars away. Chat Noir landed in front of the Akuma and blocked any feathers coming toward them. Nino was hiding behind a building and recording them but knew to leave if things got worse. Ladybug landed behind Mourning Dove silently and crept up slowly and silently.

“Mourning Dove,” Chat called and the Akuma glared at them over at them, “you’re in pain. You lost something amazing, do you really want to cause other people the same pain? You know how it feels, why would you want to cause other people the same pain?” Chat asked and Mourning Dove stopped. Ladybug was creeping up, she was close to getting the necklace.

“I...I don’t,” she replied softly and a soft, broken sob left Mourning Dove.

“Then let us help you,” Chat said as the woman fell to her knees on the ground. Ladybug came up behind Mourning Dove and took her necklace and broke it.

“Time to de-evilize,” Ladybug spoke quietly and caught the butterfly quickly. “Bye-bye little butterfly,” she murmured as the pure white butterfly left her yo-yo. “Miraculous Ladybug!” she threw her yo-yo up and ladybugs left it and repaired all the damage Mourning Dove caused. She looked back at the woman and watched Chat council her and hug her close.

“I’m so sorry!” she sobbed out and Ladybug kneeled down beside her.

“It’s ok, miss. It’s not your fault. Hawkmoth took advantage of you while you mourned,” Ladybug said quickly and the woman nodded.

“Do you have anyone close to you nearby?” Chat asked and the woman nodded.

“My uncle. He was on his way over when…” she trailed off and Chat nodded.

“Ok, let’s get you back to him,” Chat said helping her up. “I’ll see you later, bug,” with that he helped the woman back to the hospital. Nino came up to her and patted her shoulder.

“I’ll delete that footage. She deserves some privacy after what happened,” he said and Ladybug nodded.

“Good. She shouldn’t have to deal with worrying about Hawkmoth taking advantage of her sadness,” Ladybug agreed. “See you soon,” Ladybug said readying her yo-yo to swing away. A groan had them look toward an alley. They walked over and saw a boy around their age gripping his head. He had brown hair that was messy and decent length. There was a short scar on his right cheek, cutting off at his jaw. He looked fairly fit, around the same build as Jason she’d guess. She kneeled down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

She tensed up, corrupted magic came from him. It was the same kind she and Fu felt on Damian and Jason. The same they healed on them. It was from the Lazarus Pit. The teen looked up surprised, showing silver eyes with a faint green to them, and looked between Ladybug and Nino. his attire reminds her of the clothes Damian had, the ones he showed her and the others. League attire.

“What’s your name?” Ladybug asked softly.

The teens face scrunched up in thought. “ **My name is** ” he started in Arabic before shaking his head. “Sorry, my name is Xander Grayson,” he replied in French and Ladybug froze once more.

“What’s up?” Nino asked looking at her curiously.

_ “We had a brother. His name was Xander. He was killed years ago when Lana was just starting high school. But...he vanished before we could bury him. We don’t know what happened to him,” Alya had said when she was asked about when Lana had gotten together with Steve. _

“Xander?” she asked and he nodded. “I know someone who can help you, just give me a moment to talk in private,” Ladybug said and Xander nodded slowly.

“O-ok,” he replied as Ladybug stood up and took Nino away to whisper.

“Does that name mean anything to you?” Nino whispered and Ladybug nodded.

“Yes. Remember? Alya and Lana had a younger brother. Named  _ Xander _ .  _ Who disappeared years ago _ ,” Ladybug said and Nino’s face turned shocked.

“Oh yeah. You think he’s their brother, dudette?”

“I’m thinking yes,” Ladybug replied with a short nod while looking over at Xander. “Ok, you know Jason’s size right?” she continued and Nino nodded. “Go to some clothing stores and get him some clothes. He looks to be Jason’s size. After, head back to Fu’s. We need to heal him. He has corrupted magic running through his veins, just like Jason and Damian.”

“On it,” Nino said with a nod and ran off to get the clothing. Ladybug went back over to the teen and helped him up.

“Where is he going?” Xander asked softly confused, and Ladybug smiled at him.

“He’s getting you a change of clothes and will meet us at Fu’s place. He’s the man that can help you,” she explained and Xander nodded understanding. “Can you keep a secret?” she asked and he nodded. “Good, I’m going to de-transform since I can’t take you to him as Ladybug. It’d look weird,” she said and he nodded once more, she then hid between two trashcans. “Tikki, spots off,” she said and Tikki flew out of the earrings with a flash of pink, with that she stood up and went back over to Xander. “I’m Marinette, but you can call me Mari.”

Xander smiled at her and shook her hand. “Marinette why did you do that?” Tikki asked and Xander stared at Tikki in shock.

“Because Tikki, he has the same corrupted magic as Damian and Jason did. And you know very well we can’t risk doing anything suspicious,” Mari explained and Tikki nodded slowly.

“Ok, let’s get him to Master Fu,” Tikki said flying into Mari’s purse.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Xander tried holding back the tears, but he couldn’t. His vision blurred from tears while his heartbeat pounded in his ears, muffling everything. Along his body, it felt like needles were digging into him. A pounding started in his head as his hands gripped his hair tightly, pulling slightly. The day he disappeared flashed before his eyes in sharp clarity.

The scars along his back and neck stung. Lana’s desperate cries echoed in his head. He could still feel the rough asphalt on his palms and knees. The small scraps from falling. His croaked out ‘I love you, I’m sorry’, said so quietly, but seemed so loud. The pain he felt as his vision darkened echoed faintly. Joker’s maniacal laugh echoing as everything fades.

The feeling of being underwater. Liquid going into his mouth. Struggling, flailing. Coughing harshly when he escaped the liquids grasp. Everything was blurry as the liquid left his eyes. Faintly hearing talking, possible training.

The sting of getting hit, repeatedly. The cold a sharp knife cutting his skin. Slipping in the snow and ice, running. Wind whipping through his hair and across his face. Snow covering everything and making it hard to see. Shouts echoing harshly, ‘Get him! Kill him if you must!’. Arrows shooting at him cutting through the wind. Grazing him. Landing next to him.

Arms wrapped around him and he started struggling. His voice cracked as he yelled out. He didn’t know what he was yelling, just that he was. He heard gentle shushing, then humming. It...it was a french lullaby. He recognized it. It was a lullaby his sisters both learned and hummed to him after a bad day or nightmare. He relaxed in their grip and started crying. A hand ran through his hair in a calming manner. After a while, his tears stopped and he looked up. Mari was the one holding him closely and humming.

“S-sorry,” he whispered out, voice cracking once more.

“It’s fine, Xander. We were just worried about you. Are you ok? How do you feel?” Mari asked gently. Mari watched as Xander’s eyes flicked up to her, they were plain silver once more, before looking at the ground.

“I’m o-okay,” he whispered taking the tea Fu was holding out to him and taking a sip from it.

“Do you mind telling us what freaked you out?” Mari asked softly once more.

“I....” he started before trailing off and looking out the window, “everything from before now....and after that day....was a blur. But now....I remember everything. I....I  _ died _ . I was dead but I was brought back to life,” Xander said slowly and Mari’s arms tightened around him.

“Being with the League....being kidnapped and revived by them....then being trained by them...it’s tough. I have two friends who went through that. One was with them for 10  _ years _ , the other only a few. You were there for 8 years. I can’t imagine how that was after they left. But you’re safe now. They won’t get you,” she replied softly and he looked over and watched as Nino and Fu nodded agreement.

“When you are....ready, you’re sisters will be very happy to see you again,” Fu said and Xander smiled at that.

“Really?”

“Really. They were...devastated when you disappeared. I imagine they’ll be very happy when they see you,” Fu said and Xander nodded. “To help you heal from what happened, would you mind coming here every day for the next week or two? After that, we’ll space out the visits,” Fu said and Xander nodded.

“That sounds fine. Where will I stay?” Xander asked looking between the three.

“With me. I asked my parents while Fu got you ready. They understand and are very willing to let you stay,” Mari replied and Xander nodded.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“No problem. Why don’t you change into the clothes Nino got you,” Mari said and Xander nodded as he slowly got up and took the bag from Nino. After he changed into a teal sweatshirt, white tee, and gray sweats, he sat down in front of Fu.

“Shall we begin?” Fu asked and Xander nodded.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

“Are you sure you want to go to school, Xander?” Mari asked. It’s been a couple of weeks by then since Xander was healed. He’s meet all of Mari’s close friends who shared the same sentiment as Mari regarding him. They were just outside the school when she asked once more. Adrien stood next to them while the others went into the classroom to ‘deal’ with Lila. He understood that they pretended to hate each other in public for a movie they’re filming.

“Yes, I’m sure. I don’t think staying couped up at your place will help with anything. Not to mention, I’d rather be near you and your friends. I haven’t had an episode recently....but I’d rather be safe than sorry. Your parents and Fu are good, but not as good as you,  **sister** ,” Xander said smiling as he said sister in English. Mari beamed at him and took his hand.

“Ok, let’s get you enrolled then.” Mari then leads Xander, and Adrien as he trailed behind them, to the principle’s office. She knocked on the door.

“Come in!” Damocles muffled call came through. Mari opened the door and Damocles looked between her, Xander, and Adrien with a slightly confused expression. “What do you three need?” he asked and Mari had Xander sit in a chair.

“He’d like to enroll here. He’s from America but came here for a specialty therapist that’s really good. But since the therapist doesn’t know when he’ll be good to go home, we thought he’d enroll here for the time being,” Mari explained and Xander nodded. Damocles nodded at that and started typing on his computer.

“Alright. Now, what’s his name, where is he staying and who’s his family?” Damocles said.

“His name is Xander Grayson. He’s staying with me, Principle Damocles. So the info in my file should do,” Mari said and Damocles nodded slowly at that.

“Alright. Now, what about school records?”

“I was homeschooled,” Xander replied.

“Yeah. But he can be in my classes. That way if he’s behind in anything, I can help him,” she replied and Damocles nodded at that.

“If you are higher than the rest of the class, would you want to be moved ahead or stay in the same class?” Damocles asked leaning against his desk.

“I’d like to stay in the same class as my sister, sir,” he said and Damocles looked a bit confused at that.

“Sister?”

“That’s me, Principle Damocles. He’s become an honorary Dupain-Cheng,” Mari explained and Damocles nodded at that with a small smile.

“Alright. Marinette, Adrien, why don’t you two head to class. We just need to finish up some work before he can join you,” Damocles said and Mari nodded.

“Of course. We’ll see you soon, Xan,” Mari replied patting his shoulder before leaving.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Bustier was smiling as Lila claimed her tinnitus was acting up. Right as Nino sat down next to Kim and Lila next to Adrien, a knock sounded. “Come in!” Bustier called. Damocles then came into the room with Xander following behind him.

“Miss Bustier, you are receiving a new student. Please take care, make sure to look at his file as soon as you can as we do not want to cause him any problems through negligence,” Damocles replied and Bustier nodded. “Good day, if you need anything, come to me,” with that, Damocles left the room and Xander waved to everyone.

“Why don’t you introduce yourself to the class?” Bustier suggested.

“I’m Xander Grayson. I’m from Gotham in the USA. Uh, if I say something makes me uncomfortable, please drop it and don’t talk about it,” he said and the class nodded, some looked a bit confused though.

“Xander, do you want to sit next to me?” Lila asked with a charming smile and Xander shook his head.

“If I could, I’d like to sit next to my honorary sister, Mari,” Xander replied and Lila made a show of grumbling.

“You don’t want to sit next to her, Xander. Mari’s a bully,” Alya spoke up and Xander glanced over at her.

“I’ve already decided to sit next to her. Please don’t argue with me,” he said as Mari beamed at him. He went up the steps and sat down next to Mari. Chloe was sitting next to Sabrina as Mari had told her what was going to happen.

“If you’re from America, why don’t you have an accent?” Mylene asked that and Xander tensed up.

“Practice I guess,” he replied shortly.

“Why don’t you save the questions for later. Give him some time ok?” Mari replied and the class nodded at that.

“Ok class, let’s begin today’s lesson,” Bustier called out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so this was the new chap. I hope you guys enjoyed it. There was a bit of a wait, sorry. Anyways, we have Xander appear! He’s Alya’s and Lana’s younger brother. Rn Mari n the others r around 15 yo. Lana is 21-22. Xander is a few years younger so he’s 17. Alya is 27. Just thought I’d tell ya so your aren’t confused. I hope you enjoyed it, I’ll see you again soon! -Love Willa<3<3<3


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here’s the next chap!! I’m really happy u guys are enjoyin little Xan!! So this chap update wasn’t as quick, sorry. So, this update was a bit of a struggle, it took quite a few rewrites since nothing seemed to fit. But then, my shoulder and upper arm got hurt of something, idk what, all I know is that it just hurts to move it a bit. So that delayed this too. Life didn’t help, it took off days of working, but I’m doing better finally. So hopefully I won’t lose days to nothing. But anyways. A month or so has passed between this chap and the last one! Anyways, I hope u enjoy this update too!!

“Is it true that Joker uses special cards to attack people?” Alix asked looking at Xander. Xander stiffened at the question as everyone looked at him.

“Not cool Alix,” Kim said watching Mari rub a hand over Xander’s shoulder.

“What? He’s from Gotham, it’s a fair question. Come on, it’s not that bad of a question,” she argued. Xander was looking ahead blankly, his posture tense as his hands trembled.

“I-I don’t want to talk about it. Please don’t ask me,” Xander stumbled out and Mari and her friends looked at him concerned.

“Come on. It’s just a yes or no question!” Alix said leaning against her desk. “Does he or does he not?” she asked once more.

“I. Don’t. Want. To. Talk. About. This,” he ground out, his pencil that was being held in a death grip snapped. Some of the students around them jerked when they heard the pencil break.

“What? Can’t handle thinking about one of your own villains?” Alix taunted.

“Alix, stop it,” Mari demanded.

“Not cool, dudette,” Nino said. Mari and her friends, Lila included, were all told what happened to Xander. Lila knew Xander had died and was brought back to life by a different villain. She just didn’t know how it happened except for it causing him so much pain the first few years afterward.

“Come on-” Alix started but shut up when Xander stood up and slammed his hands onto the table.

“You really wanna know!? You wanna know if that psychopath uses deadly cards!?” he shouted glaring at Alix who shrunk back, looking nervous. She didn’t respond, not wanting to see what Xander would do. “He uses deadly cards modified to be as sharp as knives. He turns fun items into deadly weapons. He  _ kills _ people with them. He  _ used _ those cards on me. He killed me with those damn cards! Is that what you want to hear!? To hear about how Joker kills people in front of their families with items that should be harmless!? Well, now you know! What next? Do you want proof that he did!?” he shouted and the class paled in response. They didn’t know how to react when Xander pulled his shirt collar down and they saw a faint scar going to the back of his neck. “How bout next time you don’t ask about something that someone says they don’t want to talk about! You don’t know what it means for them!” Xander shouted before running out of the room.

“Xander!” Lila shouted, arm raised toward the door that Xander ran through. She turned toward Alix and glared at her before running after Xander.

“You should have stopped when he asked Alix. He specifically asked when he arrived for you to respect his boundaries and not continue asking about something if he asks for you to not talk about it. Gotham is different than here. They don’t have a magical cure that’ll bring everyone back to safety and wipe their memories of anything horrible. They don’t get their loved ones back. They don’t forget the pain of being hurt. They remember everything. They get traumatized. And they don’t come back from the dead,” Mari said in a tone the class hasn’t heard from the sweet girl before.

“Yo-you said they don’t come back,” Alix started shakily. “But-he...but he said he died,” she finished and while the class was scared of continuing, they nodded their agreement of the confusing statements. Even Ms. Bustier who walked in right as Lila ran after Xander was confused.

“He did, but he was lucky,” Mari said. “Don’t ever ask him about it again. He’s still healing from it.”

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(⊃д⊂)~~~~~~~~~~~~**

“Xan!?” Lila shouted trying to find their hurting friend. Ragged breathing reached her ears. “Xan?” She followed the sound down the stairs and found Xander huddled under the staircase. His head rested on his knees while his hands tugged on his hair. His body moved with every breath he took. She kneeled down next to him and raised a hand to touch his shoulder but hesitated. “Xander, can you hear me?” she asked softly.

Xander didn’t react in any way to the question. She moved her hand toward Xander’s hand and lightly touched her fingers to the back of his hand. He froze momentarily at the touch but didn’t react badly to it. So gently, she pried the one hand out of Xander’s hair and held it in both of her hands. “It’s alright Xan, your safe,” she mumbled quietly, looking at his hand, seeing a little bit of red on his nails. “Can you tell me what’s happening?” she asked and his head shook no, but then he nodded. “Alright, take your time, ok?”

“I-” he started before stopping. He swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to focus on Lila’s hand and voice. “I can’t-I can’t stop thinking about-the-about the day I-I died,” he whispered out and she gave his hand a squeeze.

“Alix caused it to happen, didn’t she?” He nodded his head softly.

“Y-yeah. She wouldn’t listen. It-it’s still hard thinking about it. Thinking about Joker-and-and what he did. How-how much pain he caused us. He killed me on my birthday....in front of my sister, Lana. She-she took me out of the house to celebrate while Alya was at work and our parents baked. I keep  _ feeling _ it. T-the pain. The fear. Still  _ hear _ Lana’s cries. I-I just want-just want it to stop,” he stammered out, finally lifting his head to look at Lila as tears fell.

“I’m so sorry,” Lila said wrapping her arms around Xander and pulled him in for a hug. “She should have stopped when you first asked. Everyone could see the topic was uncomfortable for you to talk about.”

“Apparently not everyone could see it,” Xander said quietly.

“She could. But she didn’t care. She’s bullheaded and doesn’t care if something makes anyone uncomfortable,” Lila countered pulling back from the hug to look Xander in the eye. “And you know it. But this time she took it too far. We know you’re in therapy for whats happened to you in Gotham. Hopefully Mari and Ms. Bustier can get her to stop and punish her for causing an episode for you,” Lila continued and Xander nodded slowly.

“I doubt Ms. Bustier will though. We all know what she’s like,” Xander pointed out and Lila had to nod at that.

“Well, us three will go to Principal Damocles about what happened then,” Lila said with a decisive nod and smile. Xander gave a small smile at that. “First, let’s take you to the nurse to check on those scratches,” she said standing up and pulled him to his feet.

“That would be good,” Xander agreed with a rueful smile looking at his fingers that had a bit of blood on them. The two made their way to the nurse who made sure the small cuts weren’t bad and cleaned them after giving Xander some water to drink. By the time they were good, classes were out for lunch. Xander and Lila waited next to the door and waited for Mari. She made the show of being annoyed at walking with Lila as the three went to Damocles’ office.

“How are you feeling, Xan?” Mari asked.

“Better, thanks to Lila,” he answered and Mari gave Lila a nod and smile.

“I told Alix off after you left. I didn’t give them much about your death even though the asked. But they know not to ask you. I talked to Ms. Bustier and she just told Alix to listen to people’s wants next time, sadly,” Mari explained and Xander nodded at that.

“I’m not surprised. She doesn’t discipline anyone,” Xander replied which had the two nodding agreement.

“Ya, it’s ridiculous what someone could get away with, in that class,” Lila added as they reached the door leading to Damocles’ office. After hearing Damocles’ answer, they entered the office and stood in front of his desk.

“What seems to be the problem?”

“A classmate of ours kept pushing Xander to talk about a topic he specifically asked not to talk about. A sensitive one that caused him to panic. During that episode, he hurt himself,” Mari explained and Damocles nodded understanding at that.

“That’s no good. I’ll bring them in. Who did this?” Damocles leaned forward against his folded hands on top of the desk.

“Alix.”   
“Alright, I’ll bring her in to discuss this,” Damocles said standing up. After a few minutes, Damocles returned with Alix in tow. She sat down in the chair with a huff and crossed her arms. Xander sat in the other chair with Lila and Mari standing behind him.

“What did I do?” Alix asked side-eyeing the three of them.

“Well, you didn’t listen to Xander here when he asked you to stop, Alix. It was a sensitive topic for him and he went into a panic. You should have stopped when he asked you too,” Damocles said and Alix scowled.

“How would I have known it was sensitive? Aren’t Gothamites supposed to be so used to everything they see that they aren’t sensitive to it anymore!?” she demanded, leaning forward.

“He shouldn’t have to explain why he doesn’t want to talk about something, Alix,” Damocles answered.

“Just because we Gothamites see some horrible things doesn’t mean we’re immune to PTSD or anything else. We’re just used to it so we aren’t surprised. It’d make sense for you Parisians to not fear anything since you are lucky enough to have magical heroes that can cure you of any injury or even bring you back from the dead. We don’t. We pray that we get medical attention quickly enough. You have no right to assume something,” Xander responded tersely, looking only at Damocles who was nodding along to his point.

“To start off, I want you to apologize to Xander,” he said and Alix scowled at that.

“Come on!”

“It’s fair. Apologize to him for not listening to his request.”

“I’m sorry,” Alix said rolling her eyes as she fell back against the chair crossing her arms once more.

“Good. Now, you are going to have detention this afternoon,” Damocles said and Alix grumbled but said nothing else.

“Only today?” Lila asked and Damocles turned to her and nodded. “Why?”

“Because that’s fair for what she did,” Damocles replied sternly and Lila scowled at that. “Now, off you go.” The four left his office and Alix glared at them once more before running off toward the cafeteria.

“That’s not fair. Only one day of detention? If it’s with Ms. Bustier it won’t  _ be _ detention. She’ll make it easy and Alix won’t learn,” Lila ranted and Mari placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, it’s ok,” Mari began but Lila pushed her hand off her shoulder.

“No, it isn’t. Xander deserves to know that Alix will learn from this. Not to see how he won’t get justice. He deserves better than that,” Lila said and Xander placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Lila, please. It’s ok. I’m not surprised he didn’t do much. He means well but doesn’t know what to do. Not to mention, I’m pretty sure Alix’s dad donates some money to the school,” Xander replied and Lila scowled at that.

“No, you shouldn’t be put to the side by him just because the offender’s parents donate money to the school. You shouldn’t have to accept that you won’t get the justice you deserve,” she argued and Xander nodded.

“Thank you for thinking that, Lila. But we can’t force Damocles to do anything,” Xander replied.

“Yeah, Lila. We can send an email to the board about this, but who knows if they  _ will _ act upon it and investigate,” Mari added placing her hand on Lila’s shoulder once more. Lila’s hands clenched into fists as she thought about their words. She knew they were right. They were even recording Chloe pushing Damocles into doing what she wants because of who her father was. Showing that someone could make Damocles do what they want if they aren’t pleased. But she didn’t think Alix’s dad did anything for the school. She would have thought Damocles would take Xander’s side in this.

“Lila!” Xander called out watching as an Akuma flew down to her. But Lila didn’t listen, or perhaps didn’t hear him. The Akuma flew into the friendship bracelet that Xander gave her.

“ _ Hello again, Justice. You’re angry that your friend isn’t getting the justice he deserves after being pushed into a panic attack. I can give you the power to dish out the perfect justice to the one that did it. All I ask in return is for Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculous, _ ” Hawkmoth greeted as his mask formed in front of Lila’s face.

“Yes, Hawkmoth,” Lila answered while her friends looked scared for her. Xander nodded to Mari who ran off to transform as black bubbles went over Lila. Once they disappeared he saw Lila’s new look. She had on a white knee-length dress that poofed out on the skirt. Over her chest, shoulders, and upper arms was silver armor. Brown gloves covered her hands. Knee-high brown boots were covered by metal shin plates that had a second piece that covers the top of her feet. Her hair was pulled back into a braid that went over her shoulder. A blue cloak was attached to the chest piece. The hood was on her head only allowing the lower part of her face show uncovered by shadow. Her eyes were covered by a blue mask. Sheathed at her hip was a simple sword.

“Lila-” Xander started and her gaze turned to him. She raised a hand and rested it on his cheek. She felt him tense up at her touch.

“It’s Justice now. Don’t worry, Xander, I’ll bring you justice,” Lila said with a smile. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek, he tried leaning away but she stopped him. After pressing the kiss to his cheek, she leaned back. “Good night, my knight.” When Lila said that, Xander’s vision darkened and he slumped over unconscious. She caught him with ease and set him down on the ground in safety.

After that, she looked around and went to Damocles’ office and barged in. “What on earth!” Damocles yelled watching her walk over to the desk.

“I am, Justice. And you were not just in deciding someone’s punishment.”

**~~~~~~~~~~~~⊂(O.O)⊃~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Mari looked around the bathroom before motioning Tikki out. “Hopefully Chat will figure out soon that there’s an Akuma,” Tikk said and Mari nodded.

“Well, the person Lila would be after is in the cafeteria with him,” Mari said and Tikki nodded at that. “Tikki, spots on!” After transforming, Ladybug ran out of the bathroom and looked around. She saw a flash of Lila entering Damocles’ office. She ran over and saw Xander asleep leaning against a wall.

She quickly checked him over before running into Damocles’ office in time to see Damocles chained to his desk unable to do anything. “Lila!” she called and the girl turned to her with a frown.

“It’s Justice now, Ladybug. Give me your miraculous,” she said and Ladybug shook her head.

“No can do, Justice. What did you do to Xander?” she asked and Justice smiled.

“Nothing bad, don’t worry. He’s just sleeping, safe from everyone,” Justice answered. “Let me pass. I need to find Alix,” she continued and Ladybug shook her head.

“I can’t let you do that. I get it, your angry, but this won’t do anything for either of you,” Ladybug said and Justice frowned.

“Alix needs to learn a lesson, Ladybug. She hurt someone. And one measly detention won’t make her learn,” Justice ground out with a glare. “If you won’t let me bring Justice, then you’re against me.” Justice raised her sword and rushed forward. Ladybug jumped back through the door away from her. She landed on the railing and looked around as she swung her yo-yo to be a shield. Justice growled when her sword bounced back from Ladybug’s ‘shield’.

Ladybug jumped away and Justice smirked. She ran toward the cafeteria and Ladybug cursed under her breath before following after her.

Adrien made a face when Justice came into the cafeteria. Nino had his phone out as Justice made her way over to the table that had Alix and the others. Ladybug came in and threw her yo-yo at Justice and it wrapped around Justice’s raised sword arm. Chat arrived and landed next to Ladybug. “What’s going on here?” he asked as Ladybug pulled her yo-yo back once Justice looked at them.

“I’m here to seek justice for my friend who was wronged. Now, give me your miraculous!” she shouted rushing at them as the other students ran out of the cafeteria.

“No can do. It’d be  _ unjust-ice _ to do so,” Chat said dodging Justice’s attack. “Who needs justice?”

“My friend Xander was denied justice. Alix needs to pay,” Justice said and Chat glanced over at Ladybug.

“What!?” Alix shouted at the door and the three looked over at her with glares.

“You got out of getting a proper punishment for what you did. I’m going to give you the proper punishment that you deserve,” Justice said glaring at the girl. Alya was kneeling nearby recording the attack.

**~~~~~~~~~~~One Convoluted Plan Later~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Lila groaned as she gripped her head. She looked around and saw Ladybug and Chat Noir fist pump. They were in the park and she started looking around panicked. “Did I hurt anyone? Is Xander ok?” Lila asked and Ladybug kneeled down in front of Lila.

“It’s ok Lila. Everyones fine,” Ladybug answered and Lila smiled at that.

“Xander’s going to hate me,” Lila whispered and Ladybug rested a hand on Lila’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry about that. I’m sure Xander won’t hate you,” Ladybug replied softly and she looked at Ladybug hopefully.

“Really?”

“Yeah, give him a chance, he’ll surprise you I’m sure,” Ladybug said smiling and Lila nodded at that.

“Alright!” Lila said standing up and ran out of the park and to the school. Lila found Xander in the courtyard looking around nervously. “Xan!” Xander smiled when he heard Lila’s voice.

“Lila! I’m glad you’re ok,” Xander said hugging Lila. She hugged him back before pulling back and looking at the ground.

“I’m sorry about what happened,” Lila said and Xander smiled as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

“Hey, it’s ok. You wanted to help but the system was against you. Hawkmoth used that against you,” he said and Lila smiled. “Come on, let’s go play Ultimate Mecha Strike 3,” he suggested and Lila nodded agreement.

“Xander!” Mari shouted running down the stairs to the two. He waved as Mari came over to them.

“I’m fine, Mari,” Xander said and Lila gave a nod to Mari. Adrien came running out of the locker room smiling in relief. The four made their way to Mari’s and sat down in front of the TV. Xander pulled up the game as Mari got some snacks for them. After a bit, Chloe, Nino, and Kim arrived to play with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so this chap is ok. Sorry bout that. This chap was hard for some reason, so this probably caused it to seem rushed or not very good. But, i do hope u enjoy it! Until next time!! -Love Willa<3<3<3


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap. So either this chap or the next will be the last chap for 15 yo Mari. I’ll say in the chap if Mari’s 16 or not. Anyways, back to our regularly scheduled program!!

Mari squealed as she ran down the stairs to the bakery where Xander and her parents were working. “Mama! Papa! Xan!” she shouted as she entered the bakery and the three looked over at her curiously. Several customers were also curious as to why she shouted excitedly. “I won the Wayne Enterprises Class Internship Contest! My class is going to Gotham!” she yelled and Xander pulled Mari into a hug and spun her happily.

“No way!” he shouted, setting her down.

“Yes! I’ll be there when you reunite with your sisters!” Mari said smiling happily and Xander pulled her into a hug once more while everyone in the bakery clapped.

“How long will you be there?” Sabine asked and Mari smiled nervously.

“It would last a year. We’d be going to Gotham Academy and the Wayne’s will pay for our hotel,” Mari explained and her parents shared a look.

“It’s very dangerous in Gotham. Listen to anything our friends there say, ok?” Sabine said and Mari nodded.

“I will. Don’t forget I can protect myself, mama,” Mari pointed out and Sabine nodded.   
“I know, but that doesn’t mean I like seeing my little girl fight,” Sabine argued and Mari had to nod at that.

“Of course. Don’t worry, I’ll be safe,” Mari assured and Sabine nodded once more.

“I know. When do you and your class leave?”

“After I tell them, we leave a week after our last day of school,” Mari answered and they nodded understanding.

“Want to tell Lila and the others early?” Xander asked and Mari smiled at that.

“Ooh! Yes! Come on!” Mari said excitedly grabbing Xander’s hand and pulled him up the stairs. Xander yelped in surprise as Mari pulled him.

“Slow down! We don’t need to risk tripping running up the stairs!” Xander shouted as they went and Mari finally slowed down with a sheepish look.

“My bad,” she said and they took the stairs at a slower pace. They soon reached their home and Mari pulled her phone out. “You call Lila, Kim, and Adrien. I’ll get Chloe and Nino here!”

“Should we get Max?” Xander asked and Mari nodded.

“That’d be great! I’ll call him,” Mari said and for the next few minutes, they called them together. “Nino’s busy at school. He’s discussing and filming a scene with Alix and a couple of others. So he’ll learn the good news in class tomorrow,” Mari said and Xander nodded understanding. Soon, the others arrived and were sat down on the couch and watched Mari as she vibrated in place. Xander was smiling next to her shaking his head.

“So? What’s the news, Mari?” Adrien asked leaning against the armrest, his bag which was suspiciously lumpy, rested next to his leg.

“What’s in the bag?” she counters and she feels Tikki laughing in her bag.

“Some clothes,” Adrien replied.

“Why do you have clothes with you?”

“For those days when we’ve studied too long and I don’t want to go home,” he replied easily and Mari nodded.

“Fine whatever. The others do it too already,” Mari replied shaking her head. She can’t count the number of times she’s come across an article of clothing that wasn’t hers or Xander’s in her, theirs really, room. Though from the look on Adrien’s face, she’s wary about what’s to come. “Anyways, I have some great news!” Mari said and the others smiled at that while Xan smirked.

“What is it?” Lila asked.

“Our class won the Wayne Enterprises Class Internship Contest!” Mari shouted happily and the others froze for a bit before shouting themselves.

“No way! Really!?” Lila asked and Mari nodded. “That’s amazing! When does it start?”

“We leave for it a week after the end of the school year,” Mari answered and that had the group nodded. “So I’m thinking that at the end of the year, the filming is done. Do you agree?”

“That sounds good. We could even be finished sooner if we wish. How would you want to end the film, Lila, Max?” Max said looking between everyone who nodded at his reasoning.

“Well, I think the best way would be me being exposed. But do you guys agree with that?” Lila offered. They shared a look and nodded agreement.

“Ya, that sounds like the best way it could end. Let me just text Nino,” Max said pulling his phone out and sending off the text. “He said it sounds good. We can do it tomorrow if we know how to go about it.”

“What would make sense? My character has already told them a few times and they didn’t believe me. Adrien’s said it once, for some reason, and they didn’t believe it either. What would get them to believe it?” Mari asked and the group shared a look.

“What if your ~ _ boyfriend _ ~ came and showed that it was wrong?” Chloe said teasingly and Mari started blushing.

“Damian isn’t my boyfriend!” Mari shouted flustered which had the two blondes laughing.

“But that could work,” Xander spoke and Mari slowly nodded agreement.

“Yes, it could work out. We’ll just need to wait a few days for him to get here,” Mari replied giving a small nod and the others smiled at her.

“Um, Mari. Can I quickly ask you something?” Xander asked and Mari nodded.

“What is it?” she asked, her head tilted to the side.

“In private?”

“Oh, yes. Guys, can you go downstairs?” Mari asked and they nodded agreement, knowing this was important fo him. Once they were gone, she closed the hatch and placed her hand on his shoulder. “What’s up?”

“Is....is your Damian the same Damian from the League?” he asked and Mari’s eyes widened. She had told him bout her friends, not telling their names, but enough about them. Especially Jason and Damian since some days he needed more and what better than to tell him than them? Mari nodded.

“Yes. My Damian was apart of the League when he was a child. His older brother Jason was also in it. But he was taken like you were,” she explained and he nodded slowly.

“Talia had talked about him. Had talked about bringing him back. Said I’d do it,” Xander mumbled looking at his hands. “Since I was healed, she had me training. Training to fight Damian and bring him back in case he didn’t come willingly. I-I don’t-I don’t know how I’ll react when I see him,” he continued and Mari pulled him into a hug.

“It’s ok Xander. Damian will understand if you react badly. He knows how his mother works. He’ll definitely understand if you tell him. So don’t worry. You can wait to see him until we’re home so that nothing happens,” Mari said and Xander nodded into her shoulder and hugged her tightly. It was a bit awkward since he had to bend over. His 5’9” height was a disadvantage when she comforted him standing since she was only 5’1”.

“You think? He won’t be suspicious?”

“No. He was there when you died and taken. He knows you had no choice. Even if he’s suspicious I’ll slap some sense into him,” Mari said eliciting a laugh from Xander. He pulled back from the hug and smiled at Mari.

“Thanks, Mari,” he replied and she smiled at him.

“No problem! Why don’t we go celebrate with ice cream!” she said opening the hatch and walking down as she said ice cream. Her friends shouted their agreement.

“André’s?” he asked and they all nodded frantically. “Ok, let’s go find him then,” he said and it was redundant since Max already had his phone out looking with Kim looking over his shoulder.

“He was at the Eiffel Tower a few days ago when I took Max out,” Kim mumbled and everyone nodded at that. They all knew André’s rule of no place twice within a week.

“Got it! He’s at the Trocadéro!” Max called and the group ran out of Mari’s home and hoped they wouldn’t miss André. They soon reached the Trocadéro and looked around frantically hoping to find him. They cheered when they saw him and ran over. André smiled as he watched them run over to them.

“Ah, welcome back!” he said happily as they lined up for ice cream. He beamed at Mari as he took a cone out and started scooping. “Blackberry for his life in chaos. Matcha for his emerald eyes that make your heart stutter!” he held the cone out to her and she smiled.

“Thank you, André!” Mari said stepping aside as Chloe and Adrien stepped up.

“Ah, Chloe and Adrien! Blue Cotton Candy for his expressive sky blue eyes! Passion Fruit and Mango for his outgoing personality! May you see your missing love soon,” André said smiling to the couple who nodded agreement.

“So do we, André. Thank you!” Adrien said as they stepped aside and sat down next to Mari. The three were already eating their ice cream as they waited for the last four to get theirs.

“Ah, Max, Kim! A love so sweet between you. Top Shelf Sunday for your love and loyalty to each other! Peanut Butter Cup for a lasting bond between you!” the couple smiled as they took the cone nodding to him. Xander gestured for Lila to go first and the girl smiled and nodded, stepping closer to André. “Ah, Lila! I see love in your heart! While Lightning **(dark choc with mint)** for his hard past. Blueberry Cheesecake for his silver eyes that calm you! And Toffee Coffee for hair,” he sang out before handing Lila the cone. “I believe you’ll soon realize,” he continued and Lila blushed as she looked at the cone.

“Thank you, André,” Lila said shyly with a smile which he returned. Mari and Chloe were smirking at Lila while Adrien smiled. He didn’t know but his girlfriend would tell him in private.

“Oooh,” Mari whispered and Lila’s blush darkened. Xander shook his head at Mari’s reaction as he stepped up to André next.

“A newcomer! You must be Xander, Marinette’s brother,” he said and Xander nodded. “I see love in you. Chocolate for her hair. Mint Chip for her lovely peridot eyes! And Orange for her bright outlook!” he sang out happily and Xander smiled as he took the cone.

“Thank you, André,” Xander said and André smiled and waved.

“May love come your way and brighten your life,” he sang as the group walked to find somewhere to sit. Mari and Chloe turned their smirks to him and he blushed, looking away from them. They soon found a table to sit and the two couples sat across from each other leaning on one another. Xander sat down and Lila sat next to him while Mari sat across from them.

“Mint chip, huh?” Mari teased looking at Xander.

“Blueberry Cheesecake,” Chloe said looking at Lila. the two blushed and looked away from both the two teasings and from each other.

“Who could have those eye colors that we don’t know?” Kim asked as he took a bit of the ice cream while Max moved his glasses up.

“It could also be someone we know,” Max added and Kim nodded at that.

“Any crushes we should know about?” Chloe asked looking between the two.

“We don’t have to tell you that,” Lila said quickly.

“Why not? We could help you get a date with them,” Kim said and the two looked at each other before looking away once more blushing.

“Even if I did have a crush, which I don’t, I doubt they’d want to date me if they knew,” Xander said pretty quietly which had everyone looking at him sadly.

“Don’t say that Xan,” Mari said reaching a hand over and placing it over Xander’s.

“Why not? It’s true,” he replied. Lila frowned at that. She didn’t know his whole past, but she knew that anyone would be lucky to date him.

“No, it’s not. You’re a great guy, Xan. If someone can’t see that then they’re an idiot,” Lila said looking intently at Xander who looked shocked as well as having a faint blush on his cheeks.

“T-thanks, Lila,” Xander stuttered out looking at his ice cream. After that, they ate in silence. Mari and Chloe’s smirks grew thou at the display between the two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap!! I hope u enjoy it!! N i wanna know, can u guys guess the ice creams? Theyre on characters in the story! Anyways, i hope u had fun with the new update and see u next time!! -Love Willa<3<3<3


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve done a bad. I’ve been forgettin to put TWEETS AT THE END OF THE CHAPS!! IM SO SORRY!! I’LL FIX IT BY STARTIN IT BACK UP!!! As you’ll see, I’m givin Gotham some love. It just seemed right to do it. Ok, so there’s goin to be a delay as my laptops charger port(n possibly also the cable cause fuck me apparently) failed finally where it won’t be seen let alone charge. So ya, I gotta use my phone for the majority of things(but on the lucky days that I can get my laptop to work yay! But ya), so sorry bout the delays. Here it is!

The batbois could only sigh as they swung around Gotham at night patrolling. The night was tough. They’ve each dealt with three muggings, a few robberies, drug bust each and Red Hood, Batman, and Robin all dealt with Penguin trying to rob the museum. Then Nightwing and Red Robin both talked about stopping potential rapists. So they were pretty tired after the fairly active night.

Don’t get them wrong, they know they’re lucky since this was one of the quieter nights in Gotham. They’ve faced worse nights. They’re all just glad that their patrol was almost done. Red Hood glared at the street as he watched two guys following a girl. He tapped Robin’s shoulder and the two started after the three.

Lana was absolutely tired. It was late. She should have been home hours ago sleeping. But no. She had to stay behind at school, then moved to a 24-hour cafe a few miles from the college(and her apartment a block from the college), for a group project and her group kept getting backtracked. She heard two people following her and took her phone out and raised it a bit to look behind her. It was two men in dark clothing with the hoods up. Her screen lit up showing the time. **1:32 AM**.

She could only sigh at the reminder. She tugged her messenger bag’s strap up her shoulder as she walked. She soon stopped under a lamp, rolling her neck as she waited for the two men to reach her. She might as well deal with them so they didn’t follow her home. Her friends Bee and Cahaya were there waiting to do a sleepover, something she promised a week ago. They were saints for being ok to wait for her even though she told them it would take a while to finish the project. So ya, she didn’t want to risk them to the two perverts.

One man put his hand on her shoulder and started turning her while the other pulled out a knife to point at her. As he turned her to face them, she pulled her bag off her shoulder and swung it hard at the two. It hit the two men in the head and they stumbled back or to the side shocked. She then kicked the knife out of the shocked man’s hand and pulled the pen out from its place in her hair. The one that held the knife reacted first and she threw the pen as hard as she could and it caught his sweatshirt and pinned him to the telephone pole behind them.

The first man growled while the other one looked absolutely shocked at what she did. The first man then charged at her and she sidestepped him while grabbing his arm. As he went past her, she stepped behind him and twisted his arm up so that his hand was against the opposite shoulder blade. Lana grunted as she raised her right foot and kicked the small of his back, sending the man stumbling down onto his knees. She turned to the other one who threw the pen onto the ground.

She smirked as she pulled her fist back and punched the man hard in the nose. As the man fell against the phone pole clutching his nose, she rammed her elbow into his head dazing him. The first man wrapped his arms around her and picked her up. Her feet kicked out before he leaned over and her feet touched the ground once more. She threw her head back, hitting his nose, then rammed her elbow into his stomach and broke from his grip and kicked him hard in the crotch. He fell to his knees gripping there before glaring at her.

Jason was shocked. He and Damian had been staring as the girl, now identified as Lana Grayson, beat up her stalkers. When the man she kicked started getting up, they jumped down behind the guy and quickly take him down. While Robin tied up the two, he went over to Lana as she sagged a bit with a yawn. “Are you alright miss? That was quite the takedown you did before we came,” he said and Lana nodded and covered her mouth with her hand as another yawn left her.

“Yeah, I’m alright,” she mumbled out as she put her bag onto her shoulder once more. Red Hood nodded at the info.

“How come you’re out this late miss? You know it’s dangerous,” he asked this time and she just groaned.

“Classmates. We-*_ yawn* _ -had-have a group project for-* _ yawn* _-class. Just...just finished it,” she answered rubbing her eyes. Now that the threat of being raped was gone, her tiredness came back full force. Thou she wished it waited until she was safe and sound in her dorm/apartment. Red Hood smiled as he watched Lana respond throu yawns, thou she couldn’t see it.

“Where’s your place?”

“Over-*_ yawn _*-there,” she pointed to a complex still a mile away near the college and he nodded.

“I’ll escort you the rest of the way, miss. You look like you could fall asleep at any minute,” he offered and she nodded at that.

“Thank you-*_ yawn _*-Hood,” she said before walking toward her place. Robin nodded and told the others what was happening, well giving better details that is since they did hear his voice just not the other persons, while Red Hood walked with her.

“_ Ok, understood. See you two back at the cave, _” Nightwing said and the others grunted their responses. Red Hood stood in front of Lana’s building as she stood in front of the door opening it.

“Stay safe alright, miss?” he called and she gave a nod and smile before entering the building with a yawn. He stayed there until he lost sight of her entering the elevator and went back to Robin who had the two men tied to the light pole.

“Ready, Hood?” Robin asked and Red Hood nodded. The two then continued on and head back to the cave to meet with the others.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

“So Jay-bird, you ran into and helped Lana. Hmm?” Dick asked teasingly as they ate breakfast. Jason glared at Dick while Damian smirked to the side.

“Fuck off. All I did was make sure she got home safely after taking out her potential rapists. Damian helped with it,” Jason grumbled eating his breakfast.

“No need to get embarrassed, Jay-bird,” Dick said and Jason leveled a glare at him which had Dick’s smile lessening a bit.

“What’s to be embarrassed about, I helped her out as Red Hood, my job. But the thing we should be embarrassed about is how long it’s taking you and Babs to get married,” he retorted and Dick frowned with a blush, looking away. Tim and Steph snorted in response to that.

“Did you hear the news Damian? Mari’s class won the contest WE hosted,” Tim said and Damian smiled.

“Yes, I did. Mari called me to tell me the good news. For your information also, Mari asked for me to come to Paris for a few days to help finish a project they started last year,” Damian replied and his brothers nodded at that.

“Ah yes, the movie,” Jason responded and Damian nodded. “How are you helping them finish it?”

“Mari and her friends figured a good end would be for a person the main antagonist lied about showed up and exposed her,” he explained and his brothers nodded understanding. “Though, she also said she had a surprise.”

“A surprise?” Dick asked and Damian nodded.

“Yes, a surprise. She wouldn’t say who it’s for. Just that since I’ll be visiting it’d be hard to hide so she’s going to tell me. But I won’t be able to tell anyone else about it,” he explained taking his plate to the sink to clean it.

“Hope it’s a good surprise for the person,” Tim muttered.

“I’m sure it will be. This is Mari we’re talking about,” Damian countered which had the others nodding. “Now, I’ll be off, Ember and Jon said they have a surprise for me and I wish to get it over with as soon as possible.”

“Alright, brat. Have fun and don’t hurt them too much if you hate the surprise,” Jason teased out.  
“You know father hid the kryptonite. So Jon is safe until I locate it.”

“Well, Clark appreciates him hiding it,” Steph said and like that Clark came down into the kitchen smiling.

“I do appreciate it. And Damian, I know what the surprise is, I have a feeling you’ll really like it,” Clark said and Damian nodded to him before leaving the room to find his friends.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

_ Jon @supersonsfriends _

_ Looks like the surprise went well!! Welcome back, Rae!! #yess #thatwasnervewracking #sogladitwentwell #oldmentor *Damian hugging a dark-skinned woman with her dark brown hair pulled into a braid, a rose hairpin holding her bangs back, a pink nose ring on the right side of her nose along with a lip piercing. Rea held him just as tightly. Jon and Ember(pale-skinned with brown hair pulled into a bun, a scar over her right eye(gray eyes))  _ _ smiling at the camera while looking back slightly at the three* _

Dick smiled at his phone and Alya smiled herself as she looked over his shoulder at that. “How sweet. Knew em back before moving in with Bruce?” she asked and he nodded.

“Ya, they were close. He didn’t know what happened to them when he came to Bruce. I’m glad they’re reunited,” Dick answered and Alya nodded agreement as she started working on the case they were assigned.

“I’ll be honest. I’m not sure how this case will end,” Alya said after a bit and Dick had to nod his agreement.

“Yeah. Cahaya’s attacker is slippery. Even with B’s help, I’m not sure if we’ll be able to do this,” Dick whispered looking around as he watched their supervisor Mr. Lingo work at his desk. The man was questionable, he seemed like the perfect fit for Liam Gravesworth, Cahaya’s attacker, to bribe into looking the other way and destroying evidence. Heaven knows he keeps trying to butt into their investigation and break their trust with Cahaya. The poor girl was so scared to tell Alya about the attack even though it’s been years. It took Lana and Bee’s reassurance for her to go forward to them.

They can’t blame her though. Liam was a businessman. Rich, slimy, and was able to buy basically everyone’s loyalty. Even Cahaya’s businessman friends had trouble finding any evidence. Even with Tim helping, they mostly only could find destroyed evidence. Tapes erased from the time and place it happened. Money trails carefully covered up. “Let’s talk elsewhere,” Alya mumbled out and Dick nodded agreement.

“Alright, come on,” Dick replied and the two left the precinct. Their coworkers were speaking Spanish to each other or mumbling it. Mr. Lingo apparently was obsessed with everyone speaking Spanish fluently and didn’t like it if someone had been ignoring the app. It was freaky for them. At least Gordon was looking into it himself. Once they had proof, Lingo would be gone.

They just needed proof that Gravesworth was bribing him.

But who knows how long that’ll take to get.

They sat down at a cafe nearby and Alya rested her chin on her interlaced fingers. “We may need to get someone on the inside,” she said and Dick nodded agreement.

“But who could do it. We need someone who isn’t well known. Do you know anyone that could do it?” Dick asked and Alya hummed in thought.

“Perhaps my boyfriend can help. He hasn’t met Cahaya yet so there’s a chance he could work well as a spy,” Alya said slowly and Dick nodded at that.

“He did a business degree correct?”

“Yes. He did a theatre and business, double major,” Alya said nodding and Dick nodded agreement.

“He could work. Contact him and ask. Once you know if he’s up to it, we’ll talk to Gordon,” Dick said and Alya nodded.

“Ok, sounds good. Now, I overheard you teasing Jason earlier. About saving Lana from rapists?” Alya asked giving Dick a small glare, daring him to lie.

“Ah, yes. She was out past 1 AM because of a class project. Two dudes followed her but she dealt with them and Jason and Damian quickly finished them off. Jason then escorted her home. She wasn’t hurt, don’t worry,” Dick explained and Alya nodded, giving a sigh.

“She’s probably right in not telling me,” Alya mumbled and Dick nodded agreement patting her hand.

“Yeah. You probably would have attacked them had she told you,” Dick said and Alya gave a light glare.

“Don’t have to say it. I already know that,” Alya grumbled and Dick laughed.

“Come on, we better get back before Lingo gets suspicious,” Dick said and Alya nodded, standing up.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don’t test me. Or I’ll tell Babs,” she said with a smirk and Dick sputtered.

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh, I would,” Alya said laughing as they made their way back to the precinct.

_ Mari-aculous @MDC_Designs _

_ Can’t wait for the big surprise in a month!! #thisllbegreat #theyllbesohappy #onemonthleft #monthaway #surprise _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so here’s the next chap!! So ya, this was a kinda simple chap, wanted to go back to the others for a bit before the last chap of Paris. I hope you enjoyed it! Until next time u lovelies!!! -Love Willa<3<3<3


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> part 1 or 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here’s the next chap!!! I hope you guys enjoy it!!

Mari beamed as Damian approached her and Chloe as they waited by Chloe’s limo. “Over here, Dami!” Mari called and Damian gave a small wave as he picked up his small bag off the ground.

“Hello again, Mari, Chloe,” Damian greeted as he reached them. He put his bag down and gave Mari a hug and shook Chloe’s hand. “So when do you want to finish this movie of yours?” he asked as they entered Chloe’s limo.

“We’ll be doing it in a couple of days. We just want to film one or two more things before you come in,” Mari explained and Damian nodded understanding at that. “How was your flight?”

“It was alright. Quite boring to be honest,” he answered and the two girls nodded understanding as they pulled up to Chloe’s hotel finally. “I’ll be right back. I just want to put my bag into my room,” Damian said and the girls nodded as the limo pulled to a stop. He grabbed his bag and quickly made his way into the hotel to check-in.

“So, Dami~?” Chloe teased and a blush grew on Mari’s cheeks.

“I-it’s nothing! Just a nickname!” Mari said and Chloe hummed with a smirk.

“Just a nickname? And the hug. Damian isn’t known for those,” Chloe remarked smugly. Mari looked away as her blush deepened.

“It’s nothing! Text Xan already, Dami will be back soon,” Mari grumbled and Chloe laughed as she sent the warning text to Xan who sent a thumbs-up emoji back to her.

“There, he’s been warned,” she replied and Mari nodded. Not a moment too soon either. Damian opened the limo door and got back in and sat next to Mari.

“So, what  _ is _ this surprise that I can’t tell anyone about?” he asked, looking at the two girls. Mari smiled at him as her blush  _ finally _ went down. “Is everything ok? Your face is red.”

_ AND _

her blush is back.

She smiled at Damian and nodded her head. “Yeah, everything’s good. And the surprise is at my place,” Mari replied and Damian nodded, knowing he wouldn’t be able to get her to budge on telling. The drive to the bakery was short and quiet. They soon reached it and the three got out of the limo with Chloe waving as they drove off. Sabine and Tom waved to them as they walked into the bakery.

“Hello, Damian! It’s so nice to see you again. I hope your flight was fine,” Sabine said and Damian nodded.

“My flight was fine, Mrs. Cheng,” Damian said and Sabine smiled at him.

“Please, Damian, call me Sabine,” she said and Damian nodded. “I’ll bring you and your friend’s cookies in a bit, Mari,” she continued and Mari nodded.

“You don’t need to mama. I can do that myself!” Mari called and Sabine smiled.

“Alright, the cookies are in back,” she said and Mari beamed as she grabbed the plate waiting and pressed a kiss to her parent’s cheeks before following Damian and Chloe up the stairs. They soon reached her place and Mari smiled as she set the plate on the coffee table in front of the TV.

“Come on down!” Mari shouted and Damian could only look at her confused before hearing her trap door open and watched as a teen boy come down. He was about Damian’s age with brown hair, the tips were dyed teal, a scar on his right cheek, and silver eyes. He looked familiar to Damian. When the teen saw him, he flinched and Mari went over and squeezed his shoulder.

“Who-” he started but stopped as Mari looked over at him. The teen gave a nervous wave to Damian before turning a bit to look at Mari but that allowed Damian to catch a glimpse of a scarily familiar tattoo peeking out from under his tank top. They heard his breath catch and looked over at him and the teen shrunk down.

“Dami, this is Xander...Lana and Alya’s missing brother,” Mari said Damian could only stare intently at Xander, finding every little scar that wasn’t hidden by his clothes.

“Was he-?” Damian started and this time Xander nodded.

“Yeah, I was. Y-your mother talked a lot about you while I was there....that alone was the reason she stole my-me,” he stumbled and Damian nodded understanding. He knew what it felt like to talk about his death and revival.

“I’m....I’m sorry my mother did that to you, Xander. She’s a horrid woman,” he said and Xander gave a lifeless snort.

“No kidding,” he muttered.

“How long have you been in Paris, Xander?”

“I found him nearing a year ago after an Akuma battle,” Mari said and Damian nodded.

“I’m guessing you want to make sure Lana and Alya don’t know so they can have a surprise when you come to Gotham?” Mari nodded at that and he glanced at her before looking back at Xander. “Xander, would you mind talking to me in private?” he asked and the teen looked shocked but nodded. “We’ll be back down soon,” Damian said to Mari before leading the boy up to their shared room. He took a moment to look at how different the room was. A proper pillow was on the chaise and a Robin(his alter ego not the bird) themed blanket was half on and half off it. He could see some knickknacks that belonged to Xander. On the mannequin was a Gotham inspired jacket. Around the room was random items that belonged to Chloe or Adrien. Xander sat on the chaise and Damian pulled the chair from the desk to be in front of him and sat down.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

“Do you know what they’re talking about?” Chloe asked and Mari glanced up at the closed trap door. She then turned to look Chloe in the eye and gave her a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry. Dami’s just making sure everything is alright with Xan. He knows what his mother is like. Xan needs this, needs someone who understands what he went through. Master and I can only do so much to help. But Dami and Jason, they can truly help him in ways that we can’t,” Mari explained and Chloe nodded slowly to that.

“Ok, do you want Lila, Nino, and Adrien to come over? We can talk about the scene,” Chloe offered and Mari hummed at that.

“Well, Lila could help Xan out once they’re done talking. Maybe just Lila and Adrien. We can talk about the scene tomorrow,” Mari said and Chloe nodded while pulling her phone. As she started rapidly typing, Mari glanced back up at her trapdoor and got out some milk, having a feeling the cookies would be needed soon.

Soon, Lila and Adrien where there sitting on the couch talking with them. “So what’s up?” Lila asked nibbling on a cookie.

“Well, Damian is here and he’s talking to Xan. Not to worry, but Damian is helping Xan through some stuff and I figured he’d benefit from you being here, Lila. You two are close,” Mari explained and Lila nodded.

“Of course. I’ll do my best,” Lila said and the two shared a smile.

“And me?” Adrien asked as he wrapped an arm around his girlfriend.

“Well, figured you wanted to get away from your father for a bit. Nino would have come but I knew he was working on some editing and didn’t want to be bothered. As it is, he has to worry about his little brother interrupting him,” Mari explained and Adrien nodded to that.

“That is true. So, how does it feel to be almost done with the movie?” he asked and Mari sighed.

“Good. It’s been hard. I imagine everyone feels that way,” Mari answered and everyone nodded agreement.

“I feel bad every time I have to do something to you, Mari. We still need to do the bathroom scene, Nino’s mother accidentally deleted it thinking it was something else,” Lila agreed and Mari groaned.

“Well, we can do that tomorrow. Mr. Damocles has bee very lenient with letting us come to the school when needed, thankfully,” Mari replied and the group nodded, thankful he would allow them to come in during the weekend. After a little longer, Xander came down behind Damian, looking tired.

“How’re ya feeling, Xan?” Lila asked as Xander sat down next to her and Damian sat next to Mari. Xander glanced over at Damian then turned back to Lila and gave her a small smile.

“I feel good,” he replied and she smiled at that.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Mari could barely hold her composure when Lila threatened her. She knew it was fake. That everything wasn’t real. But it  _ felt _ real. Alya and a few others had been particularly harsh earlier when they were coming to the school to reshoot. She couldn’t quite understand what was going on. They weren’t shooting then. They  _ knew _ that. They sent out another email saying on Monday, the filming would be over. That Monday was the final day of filming. So...

_ Why _ !?

_ Why _ was Alya and a few others being so  _ harsh _ ? Lila and Xander were frowning after it happened. Nino and Max were waiting in the girl’s bathroom with the camera’s set up waiting.

It was just becoming too much. She leaned against the bathroom wall holding her hair tightly as her breaths quickened. “Mari,” Lila called grabbing Mari’s shoulders as the girl spiraled. “Talk to me.”

“I-I can’t take it. A-Alya and the others are-they’re-they’re so harsh. I-I know it’s for the movie b-but-” Mari started and Lila pulled her in close for a hug.

“It’s ok, Mari. I understand. Once this is over, I’m sure they’ll make it up to you for the harsh words,” Lila said as Mari started crying into her shoulder.

“I-I don’t understand though. W-we weren’t filming then so  _ why _ ?” she asked and Xander came over and wrapped his arms around the two.

“I don’t know, Mari. We’ll figure it out though,” Xander said feeling Mari and Lila nod agreement.

“We don’t need the scene, Mari. We can make it work without,” Nino replied and saw Mari nod agreement.

_ Damian @WayneDarkness _

_ Landed safely in Paris. Hanging out with Mari and her friends while we wait to do the final scene for the project they’re making _

_ Jason @i_live_assholes _

_ That’s good. Give her a hug from me alright? _

_ Damian @WayneDarkness _

_ Will do _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I lied. This is gone be a two-parter. Lol. Next part will be out…..at some point. Idk when. Anyways, I hope u enjoyed this!!! Until next time!! -Love Willa<3<3<3


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, long time to update, amirite? Sorry about that, but I’m doin better now. Laptop IS testing my patience tho. So ya. Who knows how long updates will take cause my laptop is laughing at me. Anyways, here’s the next chap!!

Mari was squished between Xan and Lila as they entered school. She was better after hanging with her friends for the weekend after her panic attack on Saturday morning. Damian was with the Principal talking about how he was there for the movie. They heard laughter as they entered the classroom and looked at each other confused.

They entered the classroom in time to watch Alya rip up Mari’s sketchbook that went missing that morning. Markov was floating above watching and trying to stop them when he noticed it filled with designs. “Alya stop, you’re destroying Mari’s true sketchbook,” he called and Alya laughed along with Alix.

When Mari saw it, she cried out rushing forward. She snatched what remained of the sketchbook from Alya’s hands and the ripped pages from the desk then ran out. Kim, Adrien, Max, and Nino came in right as she left and looked at the scene while Xan and Adrien ran after Mari.

“What did you do!?” Nino demanded of his girlfriend who scoffed.

“I told you yesterday, getting revenge on a bully,” she replied with a wave of her hand. “You said record it.”

“I thought you would get a mock-up of Mari’s sketchbook and rip it up for the movie. Had I known you meant her real one I wouldn’t have ok’d it!” he shouted which had some of the class freeze in surprise. Alya, Alix, Mylene, Ivan, and Rose all froze up at that. Sabrina and Nathaniel both glared at the others when they say that.

“What do you mean?” Alya asked slowly and that had everyone that knew gaping like fishes.

“What do  _ I _ mean!? What do  _ you _ mean?” Nino demanded, throwing his hands out. “Max sent out a mass email to everyone here and in the school that we are  _ making a movie throughout the school year _ !” he shouted.

“I didn’t  _ see _ this email!” she shouted back which had the others nodding agreement.

“This  _ whole time _ we THOUGHT YOU WERE ACTING! BUT YOU WEREN’T!? YOU BELIEVED THOSE IDIOTIC VERY OBVIOUS LIES THIS WHOLE TIME!?” Nino demanded and the group looked uncomfortable.

“How were we supposed to know!?” Alya demanded right back.

“ _ How _ could you not!?” Lila demanded stepping into the conversation. “I never ONCE tried making these outrageous lies sound believable yet you apparently believed EVERY SINGLE ONE WITHOUT ANY PROOF!”

“You bullied Mari for real ALL YEAR! That’s  _ IT _ ! We’re THRU! I can’t even stand being  _ next _ to you,” Nino said and that Alya gaping.

“Nino, y-you don’t mean that,” Alya stuttered out and Nino glared at her.

“I  _ do _ . We’re  _ done _ , Alya. Dont even  _ think _ about talking to me again,” he said glaring and Alya teared up and tried holding back her sobs. Meanwhile, Lila snarled at the group. How could they call themselves Mari’s friends when they turned so easily at the stupidest lies. Cause really? How is it believable that Ladybug would be friends with a civilian and  _ said _ civilian knows how much Ladybug wants to keep everyone safe do that? Also, if she WAS ACTUALLY Ladybug’s friend,  _ she wouldn’t say it since she knows it would paint a giant ass target on her back!! _ God, they were  _ idiots _ . She looked down at the remaining ruins of sketches and felt her blood boil.

That sketchbook had some commissions for the Wayne family. And they ripped a couple for sure. Hopefully they only mostly destroyed the commissions  _ they themselves _ demanded she do for them without paying. No one noticed the akuma fly in at first, when they did, they yelled out in fear and watched as it slipped into Lila’s necklace.

“ _ So we meet again, Justice. Your friend can’t handle all the truth of her so-called friends. You thought they knew it was for a movie, but it turns out they didn’t know. They never read the emails, ignored them. They showed their true colors by destroying your friend’s hard work. I’ll give you the power to reveal the truth of what people think and make it so you get revenge. All I ask for is Ladybug and Chat Noir’s miraculous. _ ” Hawkmoth said and Lila twitched as her hands clenched into fists.

“I accept, Hawkmoth,” she ground out and black bubbles formed over her. Her outfit was similar to her other Justice outfit. She had on a deep gray knee-length dress. Over her chest, shoulders, and upper arms was dark armor. Black gloves covered her hands and went up to her elbows. Knee-high black boots were covered by metal shin plates that had a second piece that covers the top of her feet. Her hair was pulled back into a braid that went over her shoulder. A deep blue cloak was attached to the chest piece. The hood was on her head only allowing the lower part of her face show uncovered by shadow. Her eyes were covered by a deep blue mask. Sheathed at her hip was a simple sword. In her hand was a scale.

When everyone saw her new look, they screamed and started running. Only Chloe and Kim made it out before she slammed the door shut and stood in front of it. “What’s the matter? Can’t handle the truth?” she snared out with a smirk. The group screamed out in fear. Nino looked at her warily but raised his hands in a placating gesture.   
“Lila, please,” he started and Lila turned to look at him and she gave a small glare.

“Please what, Nino? These imbeciles hurt Mari, they fell for pathetic lies like the sheep they are. They deserve to be punished for it.”

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(⊃д⊂)~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Mari clutched her sketchbook’s remains to her chest as she sat under the stairs. Xan and Adrien kneeled down next to her and wrapped their arms around her. “I’m so sorry, Mari. This should have never happened,” Xan whispered.

“You have us still. Who needs those fakes when you have us, your real friends?” Adrien added and Mari gave a small nod. “You photocopied all the Wayne Commissions correct?”

“Y-yeah. As soon as they were done, I copied them so they could see the designs,” Mari said slowly and the two nodded with smiles.

“So that means the only things that are truly destroyed are the demanded items the class wanted,” Xan pointed out and Mari gave a watery laugh at that.

“Y-yeah. The items they demanded are now destroyed.”

“And, they can’t even ask for new ones since they were the ones to destroy it,” Xan continued and Mari nodded. “Come on, the others probably need us.” Xan held a hand out and helped Mari up. Right then Kim and Chloe ran down the steps with a yell.

“It’s Lila! She became an Akuma!” Chloe shouted and Mari nodded as her face turned serious.

“Got it,” she said thrusting her sketchbooks remains into their hands. “Stay here and out of sight,” she commanded and they nodded understanding. Adrien stood and ran to a hiding spot with Mari right behind him. There they transformed and went into the classroom in time to see all the students that didn’t know being chained. The few that knew were looking scared. “Lila, stop please!” she begged and Lila turned to her.

“It’s Justice now Ladybug. And I won’t. They need to be taught a lesson. They bullied Mari for real, not knowing this was a film. They ignored the email saying it,” she growled out and that had both Ladybug and Chat Noir pausing in shock.

“What?” she asked softly while Adrien growled softly at the chained up classmates.

“These sheep believed my every word thinking it was true because they ignored the email sent saying it was all fake,” she growled out.

“Even so, we can’t let you do that,” Ladybug said.

“Then you’re against me, Ladybug,” she spoke readying her sword to attack Ladybug and Chat.

**~~~~~~~~~~~One Convoluted Plan Later~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Lila wiped away the angry tears that continued to fall as she sat on her knees in the courtyard. Ladybug kneeled down next to her with Chat behind her. “Hey,” she greeted softly and Lila looked up with a glare.

“I’m sorry, but it’s just  _ not fair _ . Mari doesn’t deserve this. She deserves the best but she got those idiotic sheep,” Lila said and Ladybug nodded at that.

“I understand. But you should let the board deal with it,” she said and Lila growled at that.

“They won’t. Damocles is a wimp and wouldn’t ever let this reach them. Everyone knows that,” she said and Ladybug sighed at that.

“Still. You can reach out to them yourself. But right now, she probably needs you now,” she explained and Lila nodded, getting up slowly.

“Where is she?” Lila asked and Ladybug glanced at Chat.

“She most likely went home during this,” she said and Lila nodded.

“Alright,” she said running off and the two nodded and made their way to the bakery. They soon reached Mari’s room and jumped in, detransforming as the went down. Xan handed her the sketchbook and she clutched it to her chest right as Lila came in with Chloe and Kim. “Mari, are you alright?” she asked and Mari shook her head.

“Not really, I uh, I heard,” she said and Lila looked at her sadly. She went over and pulled Mari into a hug which had the others joining and cuddling Mari closely. They heard Damian enter as he was stomping with a glare. When he saw them he made his way over to the group, Lila and Adrien moved so that he could hold Mari directly.

“I-I-” she gasped out and turned to bury her face into Damian’s shoulder and sobbed.

“We get it, let it out,” Damian whispered, rubbing a soothing motion onto her upper back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here it is. Sorry bout how long it took, n how it might seem rushed. It was just....life is mean. The next chap will be Mari n co leaving Paris for their internship. I hope you enjoy it. Until next time! -Love Willa<3<3<3


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap! Sorry about the wait, life got....interesting to say the least. At long last tho, we have Mari n Co heading to Gotham finally! Cant wait for the small reunion later this chap!! I FORGOT THE TWEETS AGAIN DAMNIT!!!!!! I am SOOOO sorry i WILL remember to keep addin them on at the ends!!!

“Your brother wants me and Lana to what?” Alya asked looking over at Dick tired.

“Stay put. Easy!” Dick replied and Alya glared at him.

“Uh, huh. He wants, me a _ Detective _ to not leave the precinct, and Lana, a _ college student _ to not move even tho she has _ classes _to go to?” she repeated and Dick pressed his lips together.

“Ok, when you put it like _ that _-” he started but got cut off by Alya putting her hand over Dick’s.

“Damian isn’t even here. Why does he care what _ we _ do since _ your _ his brother who should get his butt over to the airport since his flight should be landing in 20 or so minutes and its already 9:50. Get your ass over to that airport to give your brother a hug,” Alya said glaring and Dick yelped. “Ya, give a call when your getting back since well, you’ll _ see _,” she said gripping his shirt and pulling him close and DIck swallowed the lump in his throat, “that Babs ain’t the only one to kick your ass into shape.”

A smirk grew on Dick’s face at that. “Is that a promise?” he teased and Alya scoffed pushing him back.

“You had your chance buddy. Now get outta here before I make you _ regret _ being late to seeing Damian arrive,” she said and Dick gave a mock salute before scurrying off, grabbing his keys as he ran while their fellow cops laugh around them.

“Did he _ really _ have a chance?” A British African American FBI agent asked as he watched Dick leave, his accent still going strong even tho he’s been in New Jersey for the last 5 years.

“Eh, possibly, Xavier. I _ do _ have eyes you know,” she said and Xavier snorted as he straightened his stack of papers. “Once maybe, until you realize he’ll only have eyes for Babs,” she continued and Xavier nodded.

“You’ll find love, I’m sure of it. If Shrek can find love as an Ogre, so can you,” Xavier said and Alya made a fake offended sound in response.

“Are you saying I look like an Ogre?” she asked and Xavier raised his hands in defense.  
“Not at all!” he said and some people hummed at that.

“It really sounded like it~!” the precincts secretary, Mira, hummed out with a smirk and Xavier glared over at her.

“Don’t anger the Goddess! She’ll rain down on you the wrath of almighty Zeus himself!” a different cop, Sarah she thought, shouted causing Alya to snort.

“I ain’t no Goddess, silly!” she shouted over to them. The cop in question, it was Sarah she can recognize that golden blonde ponytail anywhere, stuck her head out the break room with a look.

“No, you are a Goddess. Especially in that flowing dress, you wore for the Halloween party Dick threw,” she called and Alya rolled her eyes as some nodded agreement.

“You guys are ridiculous, get back to work,” she called and that had everyone nodding agreement while Alya chuckled to herself as she went to her desk. Xavier followed and leaned against the desk with his hip.

“Sticking a pin in that ‘Is Alya Grayson a Goddess or Not’ conversation,” he said chuckling softly, “I do hope whatever it is Dick’s brother has planned for you is nice,” he said and Alya smiled at him while nodding slowly.

“So do I. Now, isn’t Agent Fornell waiting for those documents your holding?” she asked and Xavier nodded with a smile.

“That he is. Talk to you later then. Goodbye!” he said beaming as he walked backward, waving to everyone who returned it before he left the precinct.

Alya shook her head as she pulled her phone out and texted Lana:  
_ Als: Heads up, Damian apparently wants you and I to stay put where we r _

_ Eagle-eye: whys that???? We rnt the closest _

_ Als: who knows. Dick was just sending the message. idk, maybe Mari wants to hug us when she arrives? _

_ Eagle-eye: maybe. I dont got time to theorize, got a test to do _

_ Als: GL!! _

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Mari was bouncing between Damian and Xander as they boarded the plane finally after waiting for so long. They had to deal with morning traffic which took _ forever _ it felt like before they arrived an hour and a half arrive before their flight left making sure they didn’t have to worry about security taking forever. And the whole time Mari stared at the desk with her leg bouncing.

With 30 minutes to spare, Ms. Bustier arrived, the last one too. The other students had converged in the gate slowly at different times but with enough time to not worry. But Ms. Bustier arrived with less than 30 minutes to spare causing her class to worry.

Which to say the least?

Was awkward.

Alya and the others that didn’t know sat at one side of the gate looking at Mari and the people that knew awkwardly. They felt bad but knew they messed up.

BIG time.

Like **_MEGA_** _BIG TIME_ that a simple apology wouldn’t work. It didn’t help that Mari’s friends didn’t let them thru. Kim, Nino, Chloe, Sabrina, Max, Lila, Xan, and Adrien all glared at them while Damian focused on Mari. Meanwhile, Alya, Alix, Mylene, Ivan, and Rose all tried figuring out what they could do to earn favor back from Mari. Juleka was the only one in the pure neutral middle ground. She skimmed the email and knew a movie was being filmed.

But didn’t know Lila was lying for sure.

She could guess. When Mari tried saying that and the disagreed she figured she’d stay quiet. She didn’t need anyone else trying to make her life hell. So Mari was neutral toward the girl as she hasn’t been present at that moment. So she was silently supporting the group and offering tidbits to help them realize that they need to change themselves before trying to regain Mari’s trust and friendship.

Only Time Will Tell.

They boarded the plane and sat back for the long flight. Most of them slept during the trip. Mari and Lila included. The two leaned against each other while Xan and Damian talked. Well, Damian talked. Which was odd. But it distracted Xan from the anxiety pooling in his gut as they flew.

After some time, and some crackers, the dread settled down. Damian told him everything that’s happened in Gotham since he left. Some he didn’t like hearing. But as Damian reminded him, everything was ok. No one is hurt.

Soon after Damian finished, Mari and Lila woke up. Lila smiled as she and Damian switched seats and she took Xan’s hand into hers. “It’ll be fine. They’re going to be _ so _ happy to see you,” she said quietly and Xan nodded.

“Even knowing what happened?” he asked and Lila hummed, tracing a finger along the back of his hand in nonsensical patterns.

“Ya, I think so. I think that they’re just going to be so happy that you survived everything and came back to them. From what it sounds like, if you didn’t, you wouldn’t be here today,” Lila whispered leaning her head against his shoulder. In return, Xan lightly leaned his head against her head with a sigh.

“Ya, that’s what Damian said too. I know it’s true, but my head just keeps pushing all these doubts,” he mumbled.

“That’s fair. It’s been 8 years since you’ve seen them. Lana watched you get hit. And then, seemingly right before her eyes, you disappear. People change with time. But, those bonds? They don’t typically change. I bet they still miss you as if it was just yesterday,” she replied and Xan nodded slowly, placing his other hand over their hands, squeezing her hands.

“Thank you,” he whispered as they relaxed in their seats and played a movie for the rest of the flight.

“I hope they enjoy the surprise,” Mari whispered and Damian gave a small nod at that.

“I have no doubt that they’ll love it,” he said and Mari smiled softly at that.

“Ya, and they have you to thank for that,” she said and Damian gave a shrug.

“You did most of the work and helped him get better,” he pointed out and Mari smiled as she pressed a kiss to his cheek, a faint blush on her cheeks from doing that, not seeing Damian’s faint blush either.

“Well, I wouldn’t have been able to help if you hadn’t helped him escape. You may not have stayed, but you certainly did help,” she said softly and Damian nodded slowly at that. He remembered it clearly. Even tho it happened over a year ago, it was clear to him.

_ Damian had turned the GPS off the batjet and flew to Nanda Parbat. He remembered the boy that his mother kidnapped and brought back to life. He remembered training with him a couple of times to let him know he wouldn’t tolerate anything but perfection. He didn’t know what happened to the boy older than him when he left. But then he learned and regretted everything. _

_ Xander was the little brother to Dick’s partner Alya who disappeared. He learned from Rae that Xan, or better known as Whisper in the League, was alive still and there. She had wanted to help get him out since she helped care for him, but she couldn’t without getting caught or killed for real. But now he’d fix the mistake he made. _

_ It was quite easy to sneak into the building. He made his way to where he remembered his bedroom was. He knocked out any guard he saw and pounded on the door. Xan was wearing his training gear when he opened the door. He didn’t recognize Damian as the angry 9-year-old that beat him up when he first arrived. He was wearing all black with a hood and mask on to hide his identity. “W-who are you?” Xan asked suspiciously as he picked up the sword he kept next to the door. _

_ “Do you want to stay here?” Damian asked and Xan looked at him confused. _

_ “Wha-?” _

_ “Do you want to stay here or escape? I can get you out,” he said and Xan glanced around before nodding slowly. _

_ “I want to go back home,” he said and Damian nodded as he then started tugging Xan out. Damian was shocked he was still able to recognize Xan after all this time and all the changes. He wasn’t the same short, scrawny 11-year-old. He had filled out and was taller than Damian by quite a few inches. _

_ “I’ll get you home then,” he said leading them out. As they ran out in the snow, Damian was behind Xan making sure he didn’t get hit. Which was a miracle in the storm, slipping on hidden ice as they ran. But he had been. So the best bet was to get him to Mari and Fu who would help him heal. So when he reached the outskirts of Paris, he cloaked and flew to an alley near the fight and helped Xan out. “This is as far as I can get you. I’m sorry,” he whispered as Xan gripped his head falling to the ground with his backed pressed to the wall. _

“I just wish I could have brought him home all the way,” he whispered and Mari took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.

“You did what you could, Dami. He was hurt and needed help. If he had been taken directly to Gotham, who knows what would have happened,” she argued and Damian nodded slowly.

“Yes, I know. I just....when he recognized me when I saw the tat on his back. I....I wasn’t prepared to see the tat on his back and I forgot he was there still. So much happened since I got him out, I forgot he was with you. And he didn’t remember me helping him out. And I told him and he was happy. Even thou I didn’t get him out safely, he was happy,” he said at length and Mari once more squeezed his hand.  
“Well, that’s probably because he knew you did your best. You went back to get him out of that place unprompted. You could have left him there, but you didn’t. You got him out with only a head injury that made everything fuzzy. Give yourself credit, Dami,” Mari said and Damian gave her a small smile at the end of her little speech.

“Thank you,” he whispered and Mari beamed at him.

After some time, the plane landed and they went thru the sequence to leave. Mari smiled as she watched Dick hug Damian with his brothers behind him smirking at his mock displeasure. When Xan appeared talking to Lila, the entire Wayne Family froze in shock. “Y-you-!” Jason started shocked.

“Xander?” Dick asked, a heartbroken tone in his voice. Xan froze where he was and looked up at the family. He didn’t seem to be breathing as he nodded slowly. “Your alive,” he breathed out before making his way over and setting his hands on Xan’s shoulders. Dick started looking him over while the other two made their way over. He then pulled Xan in for a bone-crushing hug causing a surprise sound to leave Xan. “I’m so glad your alive,” he continued.

“Man, this is your surprise, Pixiepop?” Jason asked and Mari nodded with a smile. “They’re going to love it,” he said messing up both Xan’s and Mari’s hair.

“I hope so,” Mari said and Tim gave Mari a reassuring look.

“Mari, they _ are _ going to love this. Dont doubt yourself, you’ll see,” Tim said as the rest of the class left the plane.

“You got him?” Mari asked and the boys nodded as they followed everyone to baggage claim.

“Ya, just meet us at the precinct in 20 minutes. I wouldn’t want you to miss the surprise,” Dick replied and Mari smiled with a nod.

_ Mari-aculous @MDC_Designs _

_ The BIG SURPRISE is in 20 minutes~!! Cant wait to see their faces!!! #soexcited #sosoon #almostthere #surprises _

_ Dick @FlyingGrayson _

_ Theyre going to LOVE it! Be prepared for lots of hugs Mari!!! _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here it is!!! The next chap!!! So this was takin while to push out that I decided I wanted to give the reunion scene a proper thing by giving it its own chap. Next chap we will see the Grayson Reunion!!!!! I cant wait for you guys to see it!!! until next time!! ~Love Willa<3<3<3


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here’s the Grayson Reunion!! So i would have gotten it out sooner but i wanted to write some other things. One of them i just gave up trying to finish it before this one. Its a new ‘Little Mermaid’ au. We’ll see how/when it comes out! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this new chap!!!!

Alya sighed as her phone started ringing once more. She shook her head as she answered the phone. “What is it now?” she asked, holding the phone to her ear with her shoulder as she went back to typing on her computer. “Hello?” she asked when no one said anything. “Dick, if this is some sort of prank, its not very good,” she said.

A soft crying entered her ear and it got louder by the second. Seeming to go from the phone to behind her. “Dick?” she asked softly and turned around at hearing gasps. She turned around and sucked in a breath, her phone clattering to the ground beside her. “X-Xan?” she gasped out, her hands going to cover her mouth as tears started forming in her eyes.

Standing feet from her, was Xan, tears falling down his cheeks as he looked at her. Behind him was Dick and his brothers along with Mari and a couple of friends. “A-als,” he gasped out, taking a hesitant step toward her.

“Xan!” She rushed over to him as he rushed over to her. He collapsed into her arms and started crying into her shoulder as she gripped the back of his shirt tightly. “X-Xan! I-I thought-I thought you-you were dead,” she gasped out, her knees gave out and the two fell to their knees sobbing. Everyone was quiet around them, some tearing up themselves as they watched.

“I-I was,” he croaked out. “I-I was-so-I was so scared-that-that you were going-going to be upset-or-or something,” he gasped out and felt Alya shaking her head against his shoulder as she cried.

“N-no! I could-never! I’d never be angry-or-or upset with you,” Alya replied into his shoulder. “B-but how did?” she asked, pulling back to look him in the eyes while one hand wiped away her tears.

“I-later,” he said and she nodded, cupping his face in her hands, wiping away his tears before pulling him in again for a hug.

“I’m just glad your safe now,” she whispered, holding him close.

“Hey Als, there are a couple of people here that you need to thank,” Dick called and Alya pulled back and tilted her head at Dick.

“Who?” she asked and Dick placed a hand on both Damian’s and Mari’s shoulders and gently pushed them forward.

“These two. They were the ones that brought him home to you safely,” he said and Mari smiled shyly while Damian looked a bit uncomfortable with it but nodded to her. Alya stumbled to her feet and made her way over to the two and pulled them into a hug.

“Thank you,” she breathed out as she held them tightly. Mari responded to the hug immediately and returned it. Damian was slow to respond and a watery laugh left Alya at how awkward the hug Damian gave was. She pulled back and patted Damian’s shoulder reliving him of giving a hug. “Thank you guys, seriously. This is the best surprise I could ask for.”

“You’re welcome, Alya,” Mari said beaming at her as Xan finally stood up after taking a moment, an officer helping him with tissues. Xan stood behind Alya and patted her shoulder. “Sorry to cut this short. But, we still have one other person to surprise,” she said and Alya nodded.

“Of course, of course. Go surprise Lana with the best surprise ever. But before you leave, can I quickly ask, who is this?” she asked looking at the italian with Mari that had her hair pulled back in a hald ponytail that went into a braid, on the sides of her face, she had some hair in messy loose tails, with blunt bangs. The girl in question waved shyly as she stepped forward.

“Hey, I’m a friend of Mari’s and Xan’s. Name’s Lila,” she introduced and Alya nodded and shook her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Lila,” she said with a soft smile before leaning in close. “You better treat Xan right, otherwise there will be words,” she whispered pulling back with a pleasant smile. Lila meanwhile had a blush on her cheeks as she nodded to her words, figuring she did  _ not _ want to see what happens if she breaks Xan’s heart. That is  _ if she started dating Xan to even have that risk _ . Ya, she first had to start dating Xan.

“See you later, Alya!” Mari called happily as the small group then headed toward the door.

“Grayson!” Lingo called out and Alya turned to their superior.

“Yes, Captain Lingo?” Alya asked and Lingo glared at her.

“Not you, Grayson, the other one. Where are you going? You need to get back to work,” he called and Dick winced.

“Sorry, sir. But I asked ahead of time to have the rest of the day off,” he said.

“Not with me. Get your butt back in here we have work to do,” he said and Dick sighed as he moved away from the group.

“Sorry, Mini D. I’ll see you tonight,” Dick said softly, patting Damian’s shoulder.

“But sir,” Alya started and Lingo turned to glare at her.

“No, buts, Detective,” he said and Alya gnashed her teeth together as she took a deep breath.

“No, sir. I won’t step down. He went to Commissioner Gordon and asked for the rest of today off to spend time with his little brother who returned from a trip out of the country. He was granted that by Commissioner Gordon, and you denying that is undermining the Commissioner. I don’t think the Commissioner will enjoy hearing that Captain,” she said glaring at Lingo in return. “So I suggest,  _ Captain _ ,” she had venom dripping from her lips as she said his title, “that you allow Dick to continue his requested day off unless you want Gordon to hear about this,” she finished and Lingo nodded. A smirk painted her lips as Dick beamed at her, pulling her into a hug.

“You’re the best Als,” he whispered before bounding out of the precinct. The others followed behind him quickly, nodding to Alya who smiled at them as Lingo ran back to his office.

“That man is horrid,” Sarah said and Alya had to nod agreement.

“Ya, makes me regret turning down the position while back,” she said and Sarah looked at her confused.

“You did the test?”

“Ya, got into the top 5%. But I declined the position. Should have accepted, then we wouldn’t have to deal with him,” she replied quietly with a sigh. “But that’s in the past. Get back to work.” With that, Alya went back to her desk and picked up her discarded phone and went back to work after sending Dick a text.

_ Alya: Lana should be on her lunch break by the time you get there. So go to the cafeteria _

_ Dick: Got it! Thanks again! _

_ Alya: np _

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Lana set her plate down with a sigh. She was excited to go home after she ate lunch. Usually, she ate at home, but after that test, she needed the comfort of a crappy slice school pizza and a chocolate bar. The steady hum over the cafeteria of students talking quietly went silent and Lana started looking around wondering what caused it.  _ Please no villain attack _ , she thought as she realized everyone was looking toward her, the door behind her. She turned in her seat and a look of shock crossed her face.

Her chair scrapping against the tile echoed throughout the room as she stood up. Tears started gathering in her eyes as she covered her mouth with a hand. Her other hand raised up shakily. “X-Xan?” she called out softly, her voice cracking. Xan was nodding frantically in the door as Damian and the others stayed outside, letting the moment happen.

“I-its really me,” he whispered, tears having never stopped falling even as he tried wiping them away. A gasped out sob left her as she stumbled toward him. He saw as her knees gave out and caught her in a hug. A hug that returned tightly as they fell to the floor crying. Nothing could leave Lana besides sobs as she held him close.

As the two hugged each other, they didn’t hear the whispers springing up. The others watching tho, they could hear and looked at them. Most were happy that Xan was back but they were wary. It was a fair concern but they hoped that wouldn’t be a problem. Lana’s sobs slowly quieted down so she was only breathing heavily as she pulled back, wiping away the tears that Xan shed while he did the same for her.

“I-I’m so glad your ok,” she whispered and Xan gave a small nod.

“Hey,” Dick called softly, crouching down next to them, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. “Why don’t we head back to your place, Lana,” he said and she nodded.

“O-of course, let me just,” she trailed off and smiled softly when she saw that Jason had picked up her bag with Tim grabbing her sad excuse of a lunch into a container. “Thanks,” she whispered as Xan then helped her up and they walked to the cars. “You don’t need your cars.”

A couple looked confused while the others had ‘Oh duh’ looks. She smiled softly as she quietly told Xan about some things that have gone on while he was away as they walked to the apartment complex across from the college. That had Lila and Adrien also having the ‘oh’ face as they realized why the cars would be redundant.

She unlocked the door for them and crouched down immediately. Everyone but Dick looked confused at that before a small brown tabby ran straight into her arms. Soft coos left Lana as she stood up and walked into the apartment and the others followed behind. “This is Cocoa, Alya adopted her for me a month ago,” she introduced and sat down. Xan sat down next to her on the couch as Tim handed her the container of her lunch. She nodded to him in thanks and started eating it, knowing Xan had something to get off his chest.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

By the end of it, Lana was hugging Xan close once more. He didn’t tell her everything. Didn’t tell her how he suffered. How he was killed so many times. Why Joker attacked and killed him. He didn’t think he’d ever tell her. He gasped softly against her shoulder.

“I’m so sorry you had to face that,” Lana whispered softly, hugging him tightly while Lila held Mari’s and Damian’s hands tightly as she processed what she heard. She barely breathed as she watched the two interact. She couldnt stop herself anymore and rushed over and hugged Xan’s back tightly with a gasp. Tensed up at that, and glanced down to see Lila’s ars around him.

_ Oh ya, she was here _ , he realized with a grimace,  _ probably should have given her a warning or something. Was not planning on telling her so soon. But oh well _ . He moved a hand down and gave Lila’s hand a squeeze.

“It’s ok. Mari’s grandpa helped me so much. It doesn’t bother me much anymore,” he whispered and Lana pulled back with a hum and cupped Xan’s cheek.

“That may be, I’m still allowed to say sorry you had to go through that,” she replied and Xan nodded slowly.

_ If only you knew the real truth. How broken would you be then? Possibly too broken. She can’t ever know _ , he thought sadly, keeping back the tears with a soft sigh and nod to her answer. While tears still pooled in his eyes, she didn’t comment on them.

“We should get Mari and the others back,” Damian said quietly and the two nodded understanding. With a little coercion, Lila pulled away and was led away by Mari and Adrien with Damian and his brothers trailing behind them.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Dick looked at his phone a bit shocked. Babs looked over at him and watched as his face went from curious to a soft and sad look. “Sorry,” he said getting up from the table to answer his phone. “Hey-’

“ _ Dick, I-I don’t know what to do. He-he shouldn’t have had to go thru that! He should have had a normal childhood! Worrying about grades! If the girl he had a crush on liked him back! Annoying his older sisters! Practicing to get his driver’s license! Not this! I know that Damian faced the same, but, hearing that it happened to Xan! God! How do you react? What do you do?! I need help Dick, please. Xan doesn’t act like it’s hurting him anymore but I just-how do-what do I do? _ ” Alya spoke quickly, her voice cracking as she cried. She couldn’t believe everything Xan went thru. He didn’t tell her everything but told her more than Lana when she left the room. And he only did that she told him she knew Damian’s past and everything about his family. Something Damian told him the basics of when they were talking in Mari’s room.

“Hey, it’s ok, Als. Take a deep breath in now, ok thats it. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Now exhale, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. That’s it, in now. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Out, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,” Dick said counting out the breaths as Alya did them with gasps. He could admit, it shocked him to hear Alya so distraught and upset. He hasn’t seen her cry like that since Xan first disappeared. She was usually so calm and sure minded that seeing her unravel was offputting. She didn’t even cry when she broke up with Cole. granted, that was a mutual thing realizing they were better friends, but still, she hadn’t reacted much to it. When he was confident she was calm, he stopped counting, which had gone on for quite a bit. “There, ok. I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but...you have to let him come to you. I know that sucks, that you want to help immediately, but you can’t Als. I’m sorry but you can’t. You need to trust Xan. Ya, he was gone for 8 years. But, he was with Fu for a year. He’s helped Xan heal so much so that he could come home without worrying about messing anything up while here. You just gotta let him know that if he ever needs you, that you’ll be there for him. That’s all you can do. It’s what I did for Damian, it’s what you’ll have to do for Xan.” Alya sniffled over the line, nodding along to what he was saying as she wiped away the remaining tears.

“ _ T-thanks Dick. I-I’ll do that. God, why is this so hard? _ ” she said with a ragged breath.

“Who knows, Als. It just is. But I’ll be here for you whenever you need me, you got that?” he asked and a soft, watery giggle left Alya.

“ _ Ya, I know that. Seriously, thank you, Dick. You’re the best _ ,” she whispered quietly as she finally wiped away all the tears.

“I know, but why don’t you go back and hang with Xan. I bet he really wants to spend every second he can get with you.”

“ _ I will. I just needed to get some advice while they looked for a movie. See you at work tomorrow _ .”

“See you then,” Dick replied with a smile as he ended the call. He turned back to Babs and saw the slight frown on her lips. “What’s wrong?” he asked softly.

“Should you really be promising that you’ll be there for Alya whenever she needs you? You know you can’t promise that,” Babs said and Dick nodded slowly.

“I know that. And Alya knows that as well. She knows that I’ll do what I can when I’m available. But why does that bug you?” he asked and Babs looked away from him. He was glad that the others were in the den right now. He did not want them to hear this apparent disagreement.

“Well, it seems that your willing to do anything for her. I get that she’s your partner at the precinct and close friends. She’s the only one I trust to keep your butt safe. But, this just seems a bit extreme. Would you do this for any other close friend of yours?” Babs asked seriously and Dick hummed softly and he crouched down in front of her and placed a hand on her knee.

“I would. And you know that. Her being my precinct partner changes nothing. It just means we’ve helped each other more than some of my other coworker friends. But I would go out of my way for each of them,” he replied and Babs looked down at that.

“I don’t know. It seems like this is more than just helping out a friend. You seem to be doing more for her than anyone else. I need you to really look at yourself and ask if she’s just a friend,” Babs said with a sigh. She rolled back away from Dick and started toward the deck. She wasn’t blind, she could tell there was something between them. Possibly more. It hurt, but she also knew they were drifting away slowly.

She wanted to see if they could fix it.

But she could see that they wouldn’t.

It hurt, but, not as much as she thought it would.

As long as they were both happy.

_ Mari-aculous @MDC_Designs _

_ The surprise went well!! I’m glad to have made their days so great!! #specialmoments #reunion #surprises *two pics. First is of Alya and Xan hugging on the precincts floor crying. Second is of Lana and Xan hugging on a cafeteria floor crying* _

_ Im not crying @actingfordays _

_ It was so sweet but jesus im still crying #notcool #crying #toosweet #sosad _

_ Dick @FlyingGrayson _

_ It was amazing, your so great Mari. Als may have said it in few words, but she’s very grateful to what you did #sweetangel #sunshinechild #toosweetforus _

_ Mari-aculous @MDC_Designs _

_ I know Dick, I know. I’m glad to help! _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here it is!! I had fun writing this, I also cried a bit from emotions. Like, this reunion was so sweet to me. I hope you thought so too. I hope you enjoyed it. Until next time!!! -Love Willa<3<3<3  
Ok so apparently there is a character in DC comics called Alia Grayson. She’s NOT the same as Alya Grayson. On my tumblr I will post pics of MY Grayson siblings and will link it here and in the beginning of next chap as well:  
https://ranger-gothamite.tumblr.com/post/622996250510409728/the-grayson-siblings


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here’s the next chap!! Man this was quicker than my newest usual update speed lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this newest chap. Also, so some of you might be annoyed the Steph, Cass, and Duke havent shown up. I get that, but its only cause i dont really know em. So theyre more background characters. I’ll try having them appear, but dont get mad if theyre ooc cause like i said, i dont know em the best. And as I said in the last chap, here’s the post showing what the Grayson siblings look like!  
https://ranger-gothamite.tumblr.com/post/622996250510409728/the-grayson-siblings

Alya was buckled over laughing. One arm was wrapped around her as the other whacked away Xavier’s hands as he continued to try tickling her. She moved about trying to get away from his tickling fingers while he followed with a grin and laugh himself. “I give! Stop! Uncle!” she yelled from her rocky spot on the edge of the break rooms couch.

A small smile decorated Dick’s lips as he watched Xavier pulled away laughing. Alya leaned against the armrest, getting her laughs and breathing under control. “How do you feel now?” Xavier asked and Alya grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze.

“Better. Tho, I think tickling is cheating,” she said, a teasing smirk on her lips as Xavier shrugged.

“Well, you never said _ how _ to make you feel better. Besides, I know you already talked to Dick about it, so I figured, a distraction would work,” he explained and Alya had to nod.

“Ok, that’s correct......how did you know I talked to Dick?” Alya asked giving him a look and Xavier smiled cheekily at that.

“Lana. she heard you and decided to tell me. She knew we were close,” he said and a resigned type of look crossed Alya’s face.

“Of course she heard,” Alya said shaking her head fondly.

“Well, looks like you two had fun,” Dick said walking into the break room, a smile on his lips as he looked at the two.

“Beware Xavier. He’s a tickle fiend,” Alya said pushing herself upright to glare at Xavier who just smiled unabashedly. Dick smiled as he made his way over as the coffee machine started another batch.

His smile turned to a smirk and Alya gave Dick a look. “He’s not the only one!” Dick called going to and tickling Alya as well. Alya shrieked out a laugh as she started going into Xavier’s personal space to escape only for Xavier to join in. she twisted to and fro trying to escape their tickling but they surrounded her with smirks.

“I-I take-back you’re-both-fiends!” Alya shouted between laughs. The two continued tickling her for a bit longer before relenting. When they finally stopped she leaned against Xavier, panting for breath as Dick stood in front of her smiling softly. “You two.......are the worst,” she panted out, tho she had a smile on her face even tho her cheeks and sides hurt from laughing so hard.

“Nah, we’re the best,” Dick said and Alya nodded slowly at that. But then she looked closer at him, its been a few days since that frantic call and the disagreement.

“How are you and Babs? I haven’t heard you talk about her in a little while,” she asked and Dick gave a rueful smile at that. _ Never get anything past her _, he thought with a small shake of his head.

“We’re talking some things thru,” he admitted with a shrug. Seeing Alya pat beside her, having moved a bit so there’s space between her and Xavier, he sat down and the two leaned against him. Xavier rested an arm on Dick’s shoulder while Alya had a hand on his leg, while her other let him squeeze her arm.

“I have a feeling that’s not all of it,” she whispered and Dick nodded.

“That would be correct,” Dick replied with a sigh, his smile from tickling Alya savagely with Xavier gone. “We got into a disagreement. We....maybe.....breaking up,” he said and a sorrowful look crossed Alya’s face.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, squeezing his leg reassuringly as Dick squeezed her hand. Xavier gave his shoulder a squeeze.

“It’s ok. We’ve been drifting apart for a bit now. We were just denying it,” Dick replied with a shrug.

“That may be, mate. But it still gotta hurt. You were with her for, what? A decade or more?” Xavier asked and Dick nodded.

“On and off,” he offered.

“Well, even so, it’s got to hurt still. And no one is going to judge you for hurting,” Xavier continued and Dick nodded, a small smile painting his lips as he looked between the two.

“Ya, maybe.......maybe that’s why I never felt the want to propose to her. It’s probably because I knew it wasn’t the right thing for me,” he whispered feeling their hands giving him reassuring squeezes.

“I guess there is that bright side. If you ever need someone to talk to, you have us,” Alya whispered as Xavier nodded agreement.

“I know, thank you,” Dick said looking between the two. Alya gave his hand one last squeeze before getting up. She went over to the machine and made Dick his coffee, exactly how he liked it. She sat back down next to him and hand him the mug. He hummed softly with a smile as he sipped the drink. “How did you know my drink?”

Alya scoffed with her head tilted as if she was insulted. “I’ve worked with you for how long, Dick? It’d be a surprise if I _ didn’t _ know how you take your coffee,” she said and Dick laughed softly as he nodded.

“Of course. I should have known that after all this time you’d know my at-home comfort coffee,” Dick said and Alya nodded firmly with a smirk.

“Obviously,” she agreed, leaning against him as he sipped his coffee.

“Mind telling me it?” Xavier asked and Alya laughed.

“Sure, I’ll show ya next time,” Alya said and Xavier smiled and nodded. Dick just shook his head between the two of them.

“Ganging up on me now, huh?” he asked.

“But is it ganging up if it’s giving you coffee? Cause, I feel like this is just being nice. Now, what you did just minutes ago with the tickling, now THAT was ganging up,” Alya said and Dick smiled unabashedly at that.

“You enjoyed that tickle session and you know it,” Dick said and Alya rolled her eyes since, _ yes _she did enjoy it since it helped distract her and she had fun with it. But she didn’t have to tell him that.

“I don’t have to answer that,” Alya retorted and Dick smirked as he leaned in to mock whisper to Xavier.

“That means she did,” he said and Xavier laughed with a nod at the look that crossed Alya’s face then.

“It does,” Xavier agreed moving out of the way when Alya tried slapping his arm. But she did manage to slap Dick’s arm hard enough for him to laugh as he leaned against Xavier, trying to escape her wrath, more without dropping or spilling his coffee.

“You’re ridiculous,” Alya said standing up then and heading out. “Feel free to tell Jason that I’m telling Lana who actually got her that necklace!” she yelled out as she left the break room and went to her desk. That had Dick laughing harder just imagining how Jason would react.

“Necklace?” Xavier asked as Dick straightened finally. Dick turned to him and nodded, an easy smile on his lips.

“Ya, a while back Alya’s sister Lana got out of a.....abusive relationship,” he said after a pause, the smile dipping off his face a bit. “She had a rough go and Jason had this necklace he bought for a family friend, Marinette you were there when they visited with Xan, but instead gave it to Lana with Alya promising not to tell who gave it to her. See, Marinette believes in crystals having mystical powers and it seems Lana does too. The reason Alya didn’t say that Jason gave it was because her ex did something when she first met Jason making her be afraid. She’s now way better and knows that she’s safe from him,” Dick explained and Xavier nodded slowly as he processed all that.

“Ah, ok. I got it. I’m glad she’s doing better now,” Xavier said smiling softly to him before humming softly. “Say, does Lana go to GU?” he asked and Dick nodded.

“Yeah, why?” he asked with a tilt of his head as he finished his coffee.

“I’m pretty sure that’s the same Lana my sister is friends with,” Xavier said and Dick started laughing.

“What a small world,” Dick commented and Xavier nodded.

“Small world indeed,” he agreed as the two went out to work on their shared case.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

“We’re really going to tour Gotham University?” Lila asked excitedly and Mari nodded with a smile.

“Ya! We get to see Lana again and meet a few of her friends there!” Mari said excitedly.

“But why? I didn’t think GU was part of Wayne Enterprises?” Adrien asked confused as Nino laughed wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

“It isn’t. But Bruce _ does _ donate money to it since his sons have gone there. Dick went there for a bit to get his Criminal Science Degree, Tim did his Business Degree here, when Jason got back, he got his English Degree. As for Damian, I don’t know what he’s planning, I think I heard talk about business or law. Duke is almost done there for his Literature and Film degrees. And then Cass is going somewhere else for her medical while Steph is doing community college as she figures out what she wants. But she will transfer to GU if they have the degree she wants. But I am thinking of going here for a double major of Business and Fashion,” Mari replied and had her friends nodding understanding.

“Jon said he was going to go here to get a Journalism Degree like his parents!” Chloe said excitedly and Mari beamed at that.  
“Hey, maybe you guys should apply here too! We could all be here in Gotham!” Mari suggested and they nodded agreement.

“Do they got a great sports program?” Kim asked and Mari nodded.

“A really good one. A few Olympians and champions are Alumni from GU,” she explained, and that had Kim shaking with barely contained excitement.

“Do they-?”

“Yes, they visit and help the couches,” Mari said and Kim did a victory dance in his seat on the bus.

“I was thinking of checking the place out,” Lila commented and Mari smiled at that.

“Hey, even if you don’t go to GU, maybe you guys will find a college that’s close enough that we can still hang out! And Chloe, Adrien, you could ask Lana about the Journalism Program they have since she’s apart of it!” Mari said and the couple sitting to the side nodded agreement while Lila giggled from her place next to her.

“Ya! We will. I’m sure Jon will like knowing more about the program!” Adrien said and Nino grunted. Adrien moved his arm out and almost knocked Nino off the seat.

“If you wanted the seat to yourself, you could have just said, bro,” Nino joked as he slid into the seat across from Kim and Max next to Sabrina.

“I didn’t-!” Adrien started as everyone laughed and a blush dusted his cheeks as Nino reached over and patted his shoulder.

“Totally, bro,” Nino said smirking and enjoying seeing Adrien flush and cover his face.

“Didn’t Xan say he was going to GU to talk with the Dean?” Lila asked and Mari nodded.

“Yeah! Since he couldn’t apply with the others, he’s applying to come in during next year’s Spring Semester,” Mari explained happily and Lila nodded with a smile.

“If we’re lucky we’ll see him and get to wish him luck!” Lila said excitedly and the group nodded agreement.

“Oh! Did you guys hear the news? Lunar Embers uploaded a new music video!” Kim said excitedly and the group nodded.

“Ya! I listened to their new song five times!” Mari said happily.

“I can’t wait! Apparently the group is coming here to perform!” Adrien said and that had them getting more excited.

“Really?” Mari asked.

“Ya!” Adrien shouted back and Mari and Lila squealed excitedly.

“I wish I can go! I love their music!” Mari whined out and Adrien shared a smirked with Chloe.

_ Queenie: you got the Lunar Embers tickets right???? _

_ Demon: Of course. I bought them months ago. Including Backstage passes to personally meet the members. _

_ Little Wing: i’m insulted you’d think that. _

_ NERD: don’t worry. even if we hadnt, the group would still love to meet Mari cause of her business mdc _

_ Queenie: just had to make sure ttyl _

_ Demon: You are at GU right? _

_ NERD: of course they are. thats part of the program for their we internship. but why? id imagine youd rather surprise them somewhere else _

_ Demon: I don’t need to explain myself to you _

Chloe just shook her head while Adrien snickered softly while the others were too busy discussing Lunar Embers. Well, Max wasn’t. Max was typing away on his phone. While he enjoyed their music, he wasn’t crazy about it like his boyfriend or the others.

“Did you see Eun-Joo’s outfit? It was soo cute!” Mari said and Lila nodded agreement.

“It was! Honestly, all of the Lolita outfits she wears are adorbs!” Lila added.

“They’re cute, but look at that rockin’ outfit she wears in the newest music video!” Kim said showing a blown-up pic of Eun-Ji wearing black cargo pants with a deep red-purple sports bra-like top with a black button-up tied under it, heeled combat boots were on her feet that matched her crop top. She still had her hair-wig really- up in pigtails with the princess cut bangs. It was interesting to see pastel purple hair with a dark hat on top with dark clothes.

“You may make Max jealous with how you’re talking about Eun-Ji,” Mari said with a teasing smirk.

“Oh, he agrees with me,” Kim said and Mari snorted at that.

“Kim is correct. I agree with his analysis. Her outfit in the newest music video is cool. It has a Lara Croft vibe,” Max replied and everyone shook their heads as they laughed. “But also, did you hear the news? Lunar Embers is going on tour with Clara and Jagged,” he said and that had Mari and Lila looking in awe.

“Really?” Mari whispered out and Max nodded as he pushed his glasses up.

“Really. After their concert here, they’ll be heading out on tour with them, meeting up at Washington D.C.,” he explained.

“Wow,” Mari breathed. “Oh! Maybe I can get Uncle Jagged to introduce us!” Mari squealed as she pulled her phone out to rapidly text Jagged as Lila and the others maneuvered her out of the bus and onto campus.

“Marinette?” a familiar voice called out. The group turned to see Lana looking at them confused with a few people with her.

“Lana!” Mari beamed over at the redhead and went over to her giving her a tight hug. Lana tensed in Mari’s grip, squeezing her friend’s hand as she forced herself to relax. “Sorry,” she mumbled seeing Lana tense.

“It’s fine. Just....gotta push thru,” Lana replied.

“Still. I swear, if I see his stupid face again,” Mari began and Lana patted her shoulder.

“Thank you, but I doubt I’ll ever be seeing him again,” Lana assured and Mari nodded slowly.

“See who’s stupid face?” Adrien asked curiously and watched as Lana gripped her dagger necklace.

“No one,” Lana replied and Mari gestured she’d explain later which he nodded at. “What are you guys doing here by the way? And who are some of these people?” Lana asked and Mari beamed as she pointed to each person.

“That’s Kim, Adrien, Lila, Sabrina, and Max. Remember Chloe and Nino?” she asked remembering that only those two joined her when she dropped off cookies all that time ago.

“Hi,” Lana greeted giving a wave to the group.

“We match! Nice!” Kim said laughing and that had Lana cracking a small smile when she noticed they indeed matched. Just not in the normal way. Her hair was practically the same shade as Kim’s sweatshirt, just faded a bit.

“Mind introducing us to your friends?” Mari asked and Lana jerked and nodded.

“Sorry, ya, I can do that,” Lana said giving a small smile as the group laughed softly. “That’s Belle, Bee for short,” she pointed to the short young woman she squeezed her hand with who had black hair and brown eyes. She then pointed to a woman on Bee’s other side with brown hair and black glasses over her blue eyes, “This is Cahaya, but Bee and I call her Haya,” she then pointed to the Italian in the wheelchair. She had purple-dyed hair and blue glasses over her teal-green eyes. A scar ran along her cheek. “And that’s Lila,” Lila waved with a laugh.

“Oh my god! I watch your channel!” Lila said from beside Mari, causing the girl next to Lana to laugh.

“Is it because we share a name?” she asked with a giggle that Lila returned. “So there’s no confusion, you guys can just call me L or even MC for my channel name,” she offered, smiling happily at that.

“MC?” Kim asked confused and looked over Max’s shoulder as he typed rapidly on his phone before showing Kim.

“Mythical Crafter. You know, that resin and clay crafter. The girls talk about her a lot,” Max explained and Kim nodded with an ‘oh’ look.

“Oh, yea! I just never heard the name,” he said sheepishly scratching the back of his neck as the group laughed.

“Anyways, why are you guys here?” Lana asked, tilting her head curiously.

“As much as I’d like to know, I need to get to class,” Bee said softly and Lana nodded understandingly as Bee then started off toward a different building with Haya close behind. “It was nice meeting you,” she called out over her shoulder.

“We’re here for a tour of GU!” Mari said beaming and Lana smiled softly.

“That’s cool. I hope you enjoy your tour,” Lana said and Mari nodded agreement. “Speaking of wish, it looks like your teacher wants to get a move on,” she continued looking behind Mari. Mari glanced back and pouted.

“Ya, will you still be on campus at lunch?”

“Ya, I’ll be in the cafeteria,” she answered and Mari beamed.

“We can talk more then!” Mari said as she and the others rushed over to their class.

“Later!” Lana called before walking with L rolling right beside her to their next class. Ms. Bustier looked at Mari and her friends a bit annoyed.

“Marinette, you shouldn’t run off like that,” she scolded and Mari scowled at that shocking the teacher.

“I didn’t run off. I walked a few steps away from the group with my friends to talk with an old friend of mine that goes here,” she said bitterly.

“Why don’t you introduce us to her then. Maybe she’d be able to give us some pointers,” Bustier said smiling sweetly.

“No.”

“What?” Bustier had the gall to look confused.

“She said no, Madame Bustier. She doesn’t have to do anything for you,” Adrien said with a scowl as well.

“Why! That is no way to speak to me, Adrien!” Bustier said looking at the two annoyed.

“Actually, they can. Because you’re being unfair. You’re trying to get Mari to do something she doesn’t want to do, nor do we know if the person you want us to meet wants to meet more people. You actually need to get the person’s consent first if you want them to talk with our class about school-related things,” Chloe said as she inspected her nails. “Even if you didn’t, you can’t force Mari to do anything.”

Bustier fumed at that and instead started leading them to the meeting point.****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here it is!! This was actually pretty long lol! I hope you enjoyed this newest chap! Yes, I’m still a bit bitter at how stupid Bustier is. She’d be better as a kindergarten teacher really. So ya, we get some Bustier salt. Espeically next chap! Just wait! So, until next time!! -Love Willa<3<3<3


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap!! And if your wondering.....ya, the new revision of the mermaid au is paused....again. Ya....I dont think I’ll ever get that done. Lol. hope you guys werent TOO excited bout it. But anyways. Here’s the next chap! Feat Bustier bein a stupid bitch!!!!

“Ya, Als is apparently seeing if Clark would mentor me. I...I dont know. It just...seems too good to be true? I guess. Clark is an  _ awesome _ reporter. But I doubt he’d want to mentor me when I graduate,” Lana said with a shrug as they ate lunch. Bee frowned as she squeezed her friend’s hand.

“Don’t say that Lana,” Mari said and her friends nodded agreement. “Have hope! It sounds like a lot of people think you’re doing great in your journalism classes, so I bet you’ll get that mentorship.”

“Ya! Don’t let that doubt control you. You just gotta have hope and wait. You’ll only know for certain when it’s your final year,” Xan said giving her a small smile from his spot between the Lila’s. Mari reached across the table, which was a feat in itself from how big the table was, and squeezed Lana’s hand. Tho she didn’t last long before pulling back since that position wasn’t the most comfortable to be in. Adrien nodded his agreement to both of what they said.

“Can I ask you a question about GU?” Chloe asked as she leaned against Adrien. Lana gave a soft him as she nodded.

“Sure. But I don’t know how much help I’ll be,” she replied honestly.

“You’ll be lots of help. Our boyfriend Jon wants to be a reporter like his parents. He knows how the program is in Metropolis but, I was wondering, could you tell us about GU’s journalism program? He wants to stay with his dad and friends here,” Chloe asked and Lana gave a small smile as she nodded.

As Lana talked, Mari sent a wary glance when she saw Bustier making her way over to them with Sabrina, Kim, and Max trying to get her to stop. Her glance turned into a glare, that had her hesitating but Bustier continued forward. The rest of the class was behind her looking wary.

“Marinette! Why don’t you introduce us to your friends?” Bustier asked with a sweet but demanding smile. Lana tensed a bit as she looked at the group.

“I already said no. Leave,” Mari said with a glare but Bustier didn’t care and moved to stand next to Lana.

“Hello, I’m Ms. Bustier, Marinette’s teacher. I couldn’t help but overhear, you’re in the journalism track here? Could you tell us about the programs?” she asked and Lana swallowed the lump in her throat. She started shaking her head as she squeezed Bee’s hand.

“She doesn’t want to,” Bee said softly, a hint of anger tainting her voice. She wasn’t about to let some woman tell her friend what to do.

“What’s the big deal? She should be more than willing to talk about her school!” Bustier said, slapping at Kim and Ivan’s hands as they tried to steer her away. Lana’s lips parted a bit as shallow breaths left her. She dropped Bee’s hand and wrapped her arms around herself, hunching in.

Seeing that, everyone at the table moved to glare at the teacher.  _ All the work they’ve done to help Lana get past Steve’s abuse is being undone _ . Mari pushed out of her share and slammed a hand on the table. Whatever little conversations remained stopped as everyone turned to watch the foreigners.

“What about the word ‘no’ do you not  _ get _ !? I have said no, Lana has said no! No means no! So leave her alone!” Mari yelled into Bustier’s face, the woman looked outraged as she then grabbed Mari’s wrist.

“That is no way to speak to me, young lady! I understand the word no perfectly fine. It is Lana that doesn’t know it seems. Nor you. She hasn’t said anything yet,” Bustier said pulling her back toward the group of shocked teens.

“I do, it’s you that doesn’t!” Mari yelled pulling her arm back. By then, a few college students got up to do something when a loud bang resounded. Lana was standing, her chair knocked backward behind her. Her hands were gripping her arms painfully, her fingers dug in, the tips of her fingers were white from the pressure. She was shaking a bit as she looked up at the teacher.

“Just leave me alone!” she shouted before booking it out of the cafeteria. Tears rimmed her eyes as Steve’s harsh words rang throu her head. Bee and L glared before grabbing their things and Lana’s and hurrying after her, knowing Xander and the others would deal with Bustier. Xander stalked toward the teacher, a deadly glare in his eyes pointed at Bustier.

“What is wrong with you!? Are you so fucking blind that you couldn’t see how badly she wanted you to leave her alone!?” Xan yelled angrily at his ex-teachers face. “I don’t know where it got into your head that you can ignore someone’s response but you can’t! Mari has  _ told _ you  _ no _ ! You could  _ see _ Lana shaking her head not wanting to do this, but  _ you didn’t care _ !  _ I hope you get fired for being a terrible teacher _ !” he shouted, poking her shoulder harshly as he yelled, actually forcing her back as she stumbled. He then picked up his bag and ran after the three.

By then a couple of college students went over to them and glared at the teacher. The two knew Lana from class and didn’t like seeing her being disrespected by a foreigner. Mari’s classmates were near the door already, having moved their as the confrontation happened, already wanting to be back at the hotel. “I think you should leave now,” the taller of the two said and Bustier harrumphed before spinning on the heel of her shoe and leaving. They all watched Bustier storm from the cafeteria with Mari’s classmates following. Mari and her friends followed behind since they did need to go back to the hotel.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

“I just! Oooh!” Mari grunted out as she fell into the chair next to Tim’s desk after dropping the papers she held.

“She really did that?” Tim asked and Mari nodded as she crossed her arms. “Man, I can’t believe she did that. Do you want me to start a case against her for the French Board of Education?” She groaned in response as she nodded.

“Yes, please.”

“Ok, I’ll start that up. How about you head home. I’m sure Alfred would be more than willing to bake with you,” Tim said and Mari smiled softly as she squeezed Tim’s hand and rushed out of his office and to the elevator. She was bouncing in the elevator, causing some of the occupants to chuckle. As soon as they reached the lobby, she was out of the elevator and out the swirling door in seconds. Adrien laughed from his spot next to the front desk lady at watching her book it.

That’s how Damian and the others found her hours later when they got home. Mari bustling about the kitchen making cheesecake and macaroons while Alfred started prepping dinner. “Everything ok, Mari?” Damian asked and Mari sighed. Dick already knew from Xan calling Alya and Alya telling him.

“Not really. Bustier was......a jerk when we visited GU. She uh....she got Lana to panic and rush from the cafeteria crying. Xan yelled her off before rushing after Lana. I haven’t heard anything since,” Mari explained with a sigh while Jason grumbled under his breath at hearing that.

“How did she even get her license?” Jason asked angrily and Mari shrugged.

“I have no idea.”

“Don’t worry, Alya got a message saying that Lana’s doing better,” Dick said and Mari sighed, relaxing slightly.

“What got to her exactly?” Mari asked softly and Dick scowled.

“The part of Bustier ignoring her wishes. Reminded her of, you know who,” Dick replied which had everyone scowling.

“Ah yes, that fucker,” Mari said causing everyone to look at her shocked. “What? Am I wrong?” she asked and they shook their heads.

“How about we invite them to dinner tonight? Make their days a bit better,” Dick offered, and that had Mari smiling.

“Way ahead of you, Master Dick. Ms. Lana and Alya along with Masters Xavier and Xander have been contacted,” Alfred said and Dick blushed at the look Alfred gave him.

“Wha-! I just meant Lana, Alya, and Xan!” Dick said hastily, especially at Alfred’s look.

“Of course, Master Dick. But Ms. Alya and Master Xavier already had something planned but were willing to change their plans if they could come together,” Alfred explained.

“What can’t handle both of them at the same time?” Jason said teasingly with a smirk as Dick scowled at him.

“Excited to see Lana now that she knows it was you who got her that necklace?” Dick countered, smirking at seeing the blush dusting Jason’s cheek.

“Fuck off,” Jason said walking out of the kitchen up to his room to change. Mari giggled at the exchange with a small smile.

“Well, all that’s left is the cheesecake, but that has to cool and set. So I should get back to the hotel and change,” she said looking down at her flour-covered clothes.

“I’ll take you back to your hotel,” Damian said and Mari beamed at him while Dick and Tim sent him looks. “Tt. You two should prepare yourselves for this dinner. Especially make sure there isn’t anything out to out us. Lana doesn’t know about our nightly activities. Xan knows about mine but no one else,” Damian warned and the two went to work to make sure nothing was out to expose them before they were ready.

While they were busy, Damian sent a smirk over to Mari as they walked to the garage. Mari giggled softly as she slipped thru the open car door that Damian held. After she got in, he closed the door and walked around the black car to the driver’s side and got in himself. The ride back to the hotel was a quiet affair and was quick. Mari was quick to clean up and change into a fresh dress and leggings, hopping on one foot as she tied her combat boots and heading to the door while Lila laughed from her seat on the bed.

“Mari, take a moment, you’re going to hurt yourself in your rush to get back to your boyfriend,” Lila said between laughs, laughs that grew with a teasing smirk at seeing Mari’s blush decorate her skin.

“H-he’s not my boyfriend!” Mari protested and Lila hummed.

“Sure. But you want him to,” she countered and Mari pouted as she nodded, her heart fluttering at the thought of it being real.

“Maybe,” Mari mumbled before looking at the time and yelping. She finished tying her shoes and rushed from the room. “Gotta go bye!” Lila could only shake her head and laugh as she watched Mari book it.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

A frown decorated Xavier’s lips as he leaned against the wall in Alya’s bedroom. Alya was leaning into a mirror as she put in new earrings and put on lipstick. They could hear Xan in the other room moving around. Alya had taken a break from talking so that she didn’t miss putting her earring in. she looked over at him thru the mirror. “I get it, I do. He’s hurting, he officially broke up with Babs. But....why is he pulling away from us? I was there for him every time when they broke up before! Why does he feel the need now?” Alya asked turning around to look at Xavier, her eyes tearing up at the thought that she couldn’t help Dick this time.

“Hey now, don’t you go thinking that. Dick just broke up with her. Perhaps he needs some alone time. I’m sure he’ll talk to us when he’s ready. I mean, their butler invited us to dinner. That has to mean he’s willing to talk to us,” Xavier said rubbing his hands along Alya’s upper arms. She nodded slowly in understanding, knowing he was right.

“Yes, you’re right. I know you’re right. He just needs time,” she mumbled with a sigh.

“And you’re right to worry. This hasn’t happened before for you, it’s understandable,” Xavier replied and Alya gave him a small smile as they left her room.

“Come on, we gotta pick Lana up,” she said and the two nodded. Xavier slipped into the passenger seat next to Alya while Xan went into the backseat. When they reached the apartment complex that let students from GU dorm there, Lana was in the lobby already, her leg bouncing. “Hey.”

“Hey, Als, Xan, Xavier,” Lana greeted and Xavier gave her a smile while Xan greeted her with a hug.

“Ready to see everyone?” Alya asked and Lana nodded.

“Ya, I’m glad to finally tell Jason thanks for giving me the necklace all that time ago,” she said, fiddling with said necklace.

“Good,” Alya replied, sending Lana a smile thru the review mirror.

_ Alster @Bi_Arrow _

_ Change of plans! Heading out to eat dinner with Dick and his family with Lana, Xan, and Xavier! #thiswillbefun #dinnertime #hangout #changeofplans  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, So here’s the next chap!! The dinner will be in the next chap. I hope you guys enjoyed this new chap!!! Ms. Bustier is finally seeing the consequences of how she teaches! Anyways, until next chap!! -Love Willa<3<3<3


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok! So here’s the next chap! Sorry bout the delay, I’ve been in pain so that’s been delaying this chap being written. But here it is finally. I hope you enjoy it!

“Hello again, Ms. Alya. It’s nice to finally meet you, Ms. Lana, Master Xavier, Master Xander. Ms. Alya has spoken of you two quite a bit,” Alfred greeted as they entered the manor.

“Uh, could you please not call me that?” Xander asked softly and Alfred nodded, bowing his head slightly.

“Of course, Xander,” Alfred said giving him a soft smile which he returned, thankful that Alfred seemed to understand instantly. “Master Dick and the others are waiting in the dining room. Dinner is almost done,” Alfred said and Alya smiled happily.

“I’ll take them over, you can head back to the kitchen. I know you don’t trust them to cook,” she said with a laugh and Alfred gave them a wary smile.

“Indeed. Only Master Jason and Mari have shown to be capable of cooking. Masters Jon and Kon have yet to step foot into the kitchen while Master Clark is adequate in making only a few simple dishes. It is beyond me how the boys can’t seem to learn how to cook without burning something,” he said with a smile to show no heat while also smiling at hearing the group laugh, especially Lana and Xan since he knew they could use a laugh.

“Is that why you sometimes make extra food?” Xan asked with a smirk and Alya blushed lightly.

“If I didn’t, he’d constantly be eating either cereal or fast food,” Alya responded waving her hand. They didn’t notice Alfred leaving with a gleeful little smile.

“Sure~,” Xan replied with a teasing smirk as Xavier laughed, placing a hand on Alya’s shoulder.

“I’m sure the others are waiting. Let’s not keep them that way,” he said giving her an escape that she gladly took.

“Ya! Better not keep them waiting!” Alya said heading off further into the manor, pointing a few things out as they headed to the dining room. “We’re here!” she called as they entered the room and Dick beamed over at them, tho it was tinted with shyness as he waved. The group waved themselves as a brief introduction happened. Lana hesitantly made her way over to Jason as that happened with a shy smile. She fiddled with the necklace and bit her lip, not looking up into Jason’s eyes and instead stared at their shoes.

“T-thank you for this necklace all that time ago. You really didn’t need to do that, but you did. I appreciate it,” she said finally looking up at Jason who was smiling softly at her, causing her to blush a bit.

“It’s no problem. I’m glad it helped you,” he said, continuing to give her a charming smile that had her blush deepening a bit.

“S-still. You did it without wanting recognition or whatever. And not to mention, waited years just to make sure I was all good before letting me know who did it. Thank you,” with a bold gesture, Lana went in and hugged Jason tightly before releasing him and backing up embarrassed. “Sorry,” she said retreating backward to Mari. Xan was nearby talking with Damian, he glanced over as he watched Lana move away from Jason before he could say something.

Jason was looking at where she had been standing shocked, a faint blush on his cheeks. Alya shared a soft laugh with Xavier and Dick as they watched that. But the three stopped laughing and Alya gave Dick a serious look. “Dick,” she started softly and Dick looked at her worriedly, “I know that you’re hurting, but I don’t want you to feel like you can’t come to me. Ok? I want to be there for you to help you thru this,” she said and Dick nodded slowly.

“Same, mate. You can come to either one of us,” Xavier added and Dick nodded.

“Sorry about that,” Dick said giving them a guilty look, thinking about  _ why _ he did avoid them.

“It’s fine, but, can you tell us why?” Alya asked and Dick blushed, looking down at the ground. Taking both of their hands, Dick led them out of the dining room and up to his room.

“Ok, so, it’s because I had to think over some stuff Bu-Babs.....Babs told me,” Dick started softly and Alya squeezed his hand when he trailed off. “It’s.....why is this so hard?” he asked softly as he returned the squeeze to both Xavier’s and Alya’s hands. “She opened my eyes to the fact that I care about you Alya, more than a friend. And that had me also thinking about my feelings for you too, Xavier,” Dick said softly and the two shared a look, a bit surprised at the answer they were given.

Alya moves to wrap both her arms around Dick’s arm and leaned in, pressing a kiss to Dick’s cheek while Xavier did the same on his other side. “Thank you for telling us. I can talk for the both of us when I say, we would love to give this a go,” she whispered and Xavier nodded his agreement.

“She’s right. How about, we go out on a proper date with each other tomorrow night,” Xavier offered, smiling softly at the slightly shocked but happy look Dick was giving them.

“Really?” Dick asked, resulting in them nodding. “Let’s. I’ll pick you guys up at 6,” Dick said happily.

“Let’s get back to the others. I’m sure they want to eat,” Alya whispered and Dick nodded, pressing a kiss to their cheeks before taking their hands and heading back to the dining room to see some of the family sitting already. Lana was sitting next to Mari and talking quietly as Damian sat on Mari’s other side. Xan was across the table speaking to Jason with Tim on Xan’s other side offering some input while Bruce spoke with Clark and Alfred quietly. Clark had his arm around Bruce’s shoulders. Kon and Jon were to the side chatting with Kon glancing down at his phone occasionally with a small smile.

“Sorry about that. We just had to talk about some things,” Dick said and his family smiled over at him.

“It’s fine, Dick,” Clark said while Tim and Jason sent teasing looks.

“Was it only talking?” Jason asked with a smirk and Dick blushed lightly, causing the two to look at him fondly.

“Yes, it was only talking,” Alya said before sending a smirk at Jason. “But can I say the same thing for you when you speak to a certain someone?” she asked, happy at seeing Jason flush himself with a grumble under his breath. Lana giggled softly at the exchange, causing Jason to glance over at her with a soft look before glaring at his brothers laughing.

“Wasn’t there a few more?” Xavier asked confused and the family shared a look with each other.

“Yes. There’s also Steph, Cass, and Duke. The two girls are over in Hong Kong for a while longer. Duke is with his college class visiting a studio. He’ll be back before Monday,” Tim explained and Xavier nodded understanding.

“I look forward to when I can finally meet them,” Xavier said sitting down on Lana’s other side while Alya sat down next to him with Dick sitting on her other side. With that, the last members of the family sat down with Bruce at the head of the table and Clark on his right side.

Dinner was a quiet affair for everyone as they ate and talked about different things. When they finished eating, Mari got up with Alfred to bring in the dessert of macarons. “There are three types: Chocolate, Vanilla Bean, and Coffee,” Mari said smiling as everyone took two. Tim was quick to take two coffee while the others took two of two different flavors. “I hope you enjoy it!” she said happily as everyone took a bit and voiced their agreements.

“This is really good!” Lana said finishing off the chocolate macaron. She coughed trying to clear her throat as it tightened slightly and got itchy. Her eyes watering slightly. “I-is there any-any pecans?” she asked and the group looked alarmed.

“I-I used pecan meal to substitute the flour,” Mari said and Lana nodded breathing shallowly as she got up. Xavier followed immediately and grabbed her arms.

“I’ll get you somewhere to lay down,” Xavier said as Dick got up to show them to the den.

“Shouldn’t we take her to the hospital?” Mari asked as they left feeling horrible. The boys themselves looked worried even tho Alya shook her head.

“No, don’t worry. It’s fine. She only has a mild allergy. This time, she only has to lay down and sleep it off,” Alya explained.

“This time?” Jason asked and Alya bit her lip. At this point, Dick returned since the den was nearby. He sat down next to her and gripped her hand tightly. She sighed softly and glanced over at them.

“Ya, this time. Her allergy....it gets worse with each time she has pecans. She was having a bit of trouble breathing, I assume Xavier giving her a shot from the EpiPen he carries whenever we hang out with Lana......she hasn’t had that type of reaction before,” Alya replied softly.

“ _ Steve _ ,” Dick spat, causing his family to be shocked at how angry Dick was from how he said the name. Anger flashed across Alya’s face at the name.

“You don’t think?” Jason asked and seeing their looks, he  _ really _ wanted to personally take to the douchebag. As Red Hood. With his guns.

“Oh yes. Steve would, I don’t doubt it,” Alya growled out, even shocking the others more.

“While we think so, we won’t know for sure. Lana doesn’t....won’t talk about what Steve did to her. So we can only guess,” Dick added and Alya nodded, glancing over at Lana’s plate which had one macaron left.

“Yup, like eating....she won’t say why she eats so little, but we can take a guess why.” Jason growled when he heard that, glaring at the table intently while Alya nodded with it, sharing the sentiment.

“Why isn’t he in jail?” he demanded.

“Did  _ anything _ happen to make sure he doesn’t come back?” Xan asked then and the two shared a look.”

“No,” Alya sighed out. “We threatened him to keep him away. But I don’t know how effective it’ll be long term. But Lana needs to do it herself, we can’t force her. Her therapist says that it would be best if she did things at her own pace. If that means not charging Steve, so be it,” she said, giving Jason a look that spoke volumes. Jason grumbled and glared at the table.

“What if....” Damian started and paused, unsure if he had the right to ask but he could see that Xan didn’t want to voice it. Alya nodded to him, encouraging him to ask the question. “What do you plan to do if he who shall not be named comes back to Gotham and tries something?” he asked at last and Alya hummed softly.

“If we see him doing anything we will try arresting him,” Alya replied after some time of silence.

“Alya, why don’t you and your siblings stay the night. I’m sure everyone will want to see that Lana is in good health in the morning,” Clark said looking between Xan, Xavier, and Alya. Alya smiled softly at that.

“Are you sure?” Alya asked and Clark gave her a smile and nod.

“Of course I’m sure. We’ll find you some clothes to wear,” Clark said easily and Jason smirked over at Dick who blushed.

“I’ll get you and Xavier something to wear,” Dick said leading Alya out of the room.

“I’ll prepare a room for Ms. Lana. Xander, would you like to room with your sister?” Alfred asked and Xan looked over at Damian who nodded.

“He can stay with me,” Damian said and Alfred nodded understanding while Xan looked grateful. “While you get some pj’s, I’ll take Mari home,” Damian said and helped Mari up before leaving the room.

“You should be able to fit something of mine,” Jason said waving Xan to follow him.

“What about Lana?” Xan asked tilting his head as they entered the den and saw Lana laying curled up at one end of a couch.

“Babs would be the best match, but we aren’t going to ask her. So she can borrow something of mine,” Jason said and Xan nodded, giving him a look which had a blush growing faintly on Jason’s cheeks. A soft laugh left Xan as Jason crouched down next to Lana and tapped the cushion. Lana made a sleepy sound as she blinked away and tilted her head as she made a sound of confusion. “Hey there,” he whispered with a soft smile as a yawn left her.

“Hey, is it-?” she started asking but got cut off by another yawn.

“You’re staying the night with your siblings. Let’s get you some pj’s to wear,” he said, and Lana nod slowly and pushed herself up. With some help from both Xan and Jason, she was up and they were slowly making their way upstairs.

“Goodnight, Lana, Xan,” Alya said coming across them as she left a bathroom wearing Dick’s sweats and a tee. She pulled the two into a hug.

“Goodnight, Als,” the two said while Jason gave a small two-fingered wave. Afterward, Alya made her way into Dick’s room where they saw Xavier and Dick inside, the two already laying on the bed before the door closed. Slipping into his room, Jason found some clothes for Xan and Lana to wear for the night. Lana just mumbled her thanks and followed Alfred to where she’ll be staying for the night. Which happens to be next to both his and Dick’s room. She disappeared into the room and Xan went into Damian’s room.

Jason had a small smile and blush as he got ready to sleep. Bruce gave them the night off and would patrol himself with Clark.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Damian smiled softly as he looked at Mari as they reached the hotel. He got out of the car quickly and opened the passenger door for her with a smile. Mari blushed softly as she took his hand and let him help her out of the car. He led her to the entrance and went thru the doors, heading to the elevator before pausing.

“I’m glad we were able to do this. I do feel horrible tho for giving Lana something she’s allergic to,” Mari said and Damian gave her a reassuring look.

“Don’t worry. We’ll keep an eye on her throughout the night. In the morning, you can tell her sorry again. But I doubt she’ll hold it against you,” Damian said taking her hands into his and squeezing them.

“Ya, I’ll see if I can make her something tho in the hotel kitchen. But we’ll see,” Mari said returning the squeeze.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Damian said raising her hand up to press a kiss to her fingers. Mari blushed brightly at that but smiled shyly as Damian gave her a small smirk.

“I’ll see you then,” Mari agreed shyly. Right then, the elevator opened to reveal an annoyed Lila and an angry Ms. Bustier.

“There you are, Marinette! I can’t believe you ran off from the class!” Bustier said angrily.

“I  _ told _ you Ms. Bustier that she’s family friends with the Wayne’s. They invited her to dinner with them  _ and _ I told you that!” Lila said and Bustier just raised a hand to glare at Mari and Damian.

“You better run off, young man. I doubt the Wayne’s will enjoy hearing that someone pretended to be their youngest son,” Bustier said, causing the two girls to looked shocked while Damian returned the glare.

“Bustier, right?” Damian asked and the teacher nodded. “Well then. Bustier, I highly suggest you shut your mouth. You are talking directly to a Wayne. Not only that, but you are also accusing a student of yours of something they did not do. It is not her fault that you are an idiot. To not dig yourself an even bigger hole, I would  _ highly _ suggest you stop talking. My brother Tim is putting a case together against you as we speak for the terrible way you have been dealing with your class. So, with that, goodnight, Angel,” Damian said with a nod and walked out of the hotel.

Mari smirked as she walked past Bustier into the elevator and Lila pressed their floor. The door closed behind Mari leaving the teacher dazed in the lobby. As they rode up, Mari finally processed the nickname Damian gave her and blushed. “Damian called me Angel!” she cried out, freaking out as she flapped her hands about.

“Mari, calm down! Obviously this means Damian has some feelings for you! In the morning, you’ll be able to find out!” Lila said smiling at her and Mari returned the smile shakily.

“Really?”

“Really. I may not know him personally, but from what I know, he doesn’t just give  _ anyone _ nicknames. So, ya, I have a good feeling about this,” Lila said leading Mari back to their room where Adrien and Chloe were waiting for them. Opening the door, Lila sat Mari down in front of them. “Tell her. Damian called her angel before leaving.”

“He called you angel!?” Chloe demand as she threw herself onto the bed and shook her shoulder. Mari nodded slowly shocked with how Chloe was reacting. “Maribear, you are absolutely ridiculous if you think Damian doesn’t think of you as more than a friend. He doesn’t even give his few friends a nickname! Xan doesn’t count since they have some history,” Chloe said and Adrien nodded agreement.

“Ya, Mari. I’ve meet Damian when he and his dad came to a fashion show here a few years ago. He just barely now started calling his brothers by their first names. You are  _ very special _ to him,” Adrien added and Mari’s blush deepened at the thought.

“O-ok,” she stuttered out with a shy smile. Her friends smiled happily at her and laughed as she squealed and fell over shaking slightly as she squealed.

“Ok, time for bed! You, my dearie, need to be wide-eyed for when he meets you up! Not only that, but we need to give you some subtle makeup to really make your eyes pop!” Lila said and Chloe nodded agreement.

“Definitely. Some lip gloss or lipstick in a pale pink and eyeliner will do wonders to make your features stand out. I’ll bring over a couple of options,” Chloe said as she and Adrien stood up and left the room. Mari just nodded at their words before they left.

_ Done With College @proudgothamite 2 hours ago _

_ So happy to finally thank the proper person for this necklace I got ages ago!! #sograteful #present #necklace *pic of dagger necklace with three gems on the hilt* _

_ Mari-aculous @MDC_Designs 1 minute ago _

_ Had a great time hanging with Damian and everyone!! #hangout #fun #domesticwaynes _

_ Damian @BloodBorne 1 second ago _

_ I’m glad you had fun with my family tonight. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. _ ****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap!!! I had fun writing it, it was really cool to do it and show dami n mari’s relationship!! Also, Dick/Alya/Xavier are sorta finally together!! Ok, no sorta….but they do need to go out on an official first date. But still, YA!! Also, this takes place about a few weeks after they arrived in Gotham. Unless explicitly stated, assume the chaps are the next day sorta thing. Ok, until next time!!!! ~Love Willa<3<3<3


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it’s been a little while since this was updated. Sorry, but well, my sister came for a visit for a week n a half about n well, ya. That took up a lot of my time. N then I also wanted to get that self-indulgent one-shot angst done so ya. I think that one shot was the biggest reason since motivation came and went. Also, I’m getting ready to move to live with my sister for one of my college semesters to see how I enjoy it. And well, idk when this will come out so ya. That’s also pushing back this update since im spending some days packing up stuff I want to bring with me besides clothes, school supplies, and hygiene item......its after finally arriving and unpackin...BUT ITS HERE NOW!(im sorry bout the wait)
> 
> No matter tho! This is the next day after the dinner n we get to see how the night went before gettin some more daminette(n some dick/alya/xavier....i need to come up with a ship name for em....feel free to offer some)!! Anyways, enjoy!!!!

Small sounds woke Dick up from his sleep. He looked around, trying to see if there was any danger when he noticed next to him Alya was making soft sounds, her head turning a bit as barely audible ‘no’s left her. She was curled up next to him, her hair a bit of a mess, her bangs and sides plastered to her face while the rest tangled on the pillow. Her back was to Xavier, who had woken up as well and started making soft, soothing hums as he ran a hand along her arm.

Seeing the immediate effect, Dick started running a hand thru her hair, humming along to the tune Xavier began. Moving closer, Alya latched onto Dick, her arms wrapping around his waist as she tried burying her face into his side. The two wrapped themselves around her and continued their soft hums and touches, slowly helping her out of her nightmare.

After some time, Alya’s breathing settled down as she was once more relaxed in her sleep. Xavier smiled softly at dick as he pressed a kiss to the back of Alya’s head and slowly fell back asleep after watching for a few minutes to make sure her nightmare didn’t start back up. Dick tho, he stayed up a bit longer, continuing to run his finger’s thru her hair, untangling it gently. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, Dick sighed thru his nose before falling asleep next to them.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Damian woke to Alfred the cat jumping off his bed. Usually, that wouldn’t wake him. But tonight, the way he jumped off the bed woke Damian. Usually, Alfred’s jumps were relaxed and slow, moving at his own pace. But right then, it seemed more urgent. He looked around and found Xan awake.

Xan had his arms wrapped around his knees as he stared at the door. Looking closer as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, Damian noticed that Xan was tense, his fingers digging into his arms. Alfred was rubbing himself against Xan’s side and legs, a purr leaving him to help soothe Xan. As Damian watched, Xan moved a hand from his arm and started scratching Alfred’s head and chin.

Damian moved from his bed and sat down near Xan, giving him a moment before speaking finally. “What happened?” he asked, and Xan glanced over at Damian before looking at the door again.

“I saw them,” Xan started in a whispered, not needing to elaborate for Damian, he already knew who ‘they’ were. “We were at the League tho. I......I attacked them immediately when  _ she _ asked me too. I didn’t hesitate. I couldn’t stop myself as-as I-” he stopped then, taking a deep, shuddering breath. He took a moment to concentrate on Alfred under his fingers before he continued speaking. “I killed them,” he spoke the words so softly that Damian almost didn’t hear it.

“But you didn’t. It was just a nightmare. Nothing about it is true,” Damian said, and Xan nodded slowly at that.

“Maybe, but.......it was so vivid...so  _ clear _ . It felt like I was still in the league, following their orders blindly to survive. It was like I never left....like you never helped me out of that hell hole,” he admitted, and Damian reached over and squeezed Xan’s shoulder.

“I know. It can seem so real, make you think you never left even thou you do the one thing you know you would never do. I’ve had similar nightmares,” Damian admitted and Xan glanced over at him.

“Really? Do you still?” he asked softly as Damian reached a hand out to scratch Alfred’s chin.

“Occasionally, yes. It does get better, I promise. It just takes time. You can always come talk to me or Jason. Or Rae even. Do you remember her?” Damian asked and Xan pursed his lips before nodding slowly, he remembered the woman. She helped train him in League before disappearing years prior. “She will listen if you ask her too.”

“Where is she?” Xan asked turning a bit to look over at Damian easier.

“She’s opening a restaurant called  ** _Janat Al'Amal_ ** , but she’s working at Rose Petal’s Boutique until it’s ready for the grand opening,” Damian said and Xan smiled with a small smile on his lips.

“Paradise of Hope...that’s a nice name,” Xan said and Damian had the faintest of smiles as he nodded agreement.

“It is. She chose a great name for her future restaurant. I’ve been in touch with her along with Jon and Ember. You haven’t met Ember yet but she’s Jon’s friend and hangs with us. Rae likes to let people vent or talk about their problems to her,” Damian explained and Xan nodded understanding.

“I’ll go talk with her tom-today?” he said tilting his head to look at the clock and saw that it was past midnight, around 1 am.

“Good. I can bet you won’t go to sleep immediately, right?” Damian asked and Xan nodded. Getting the confirmation, Damian stood up and went over to his desk and pulled out a sketchbook and pencil, and walked over to Xan. “Mari said you drew to relax. Here,” he crouched down and held it out.

“Thanks,” Xan said giving Damian a small smile as he took the offered items and flipped the pages to a clear one and started sketching. Damian nodded as he then went back to his bed. Laying down, he looked over at Xan one last time, watching as he drew intently with Alfred going onto his shoulders to relax, before falling asleep once more, knowing he did what he could to help his friend.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Xan and Damian were one of the first people up in the morning. They got a quick bite to eat before going to the indoor gym the manor had to spar for a bit. Alfred worked on breakfast for everyone when the two left. Clark was up next followed by Kon and Jon. By 8, Dick, Xavier, Jason, and Tim came down to eat and work on some stuff. After some time, Alya came down walking beside Lana as she took slow steps.

Raising a hand, Lana greeted everyone sleepily as she slowly woke up. “How are you feeling, Lana?” Clark asked setting the newspaper down to look over at her. The rest of the family looked over as well as she gave a small smile.

“Better. Thank you for letting us stay the night,” she said and Clark returned the smile.

“It was nothing,” Clark said moving his hand to look at the time. “Well, I better get going. I promised Perry I’d send over my article before noon. Have a good day you guys. Also, Lana, I would like to talk to you about your future,” Clark said and Lana smiled at that and nodded. Getting the nod from Lana, Clark left to the office Bruce got him so that he could work.

“I’m glad your feeling better now, Lana,” Jason said and Lana glanced over at him with a faint smile.

“Ya, sorry about that,” she mumbled softly, glancing over at Alya who squeezed her shoulder.

“Don’t be. You couldn’t have known,” Jason said and Lana nodded, knowing he was right.

“Lana, would you be willing to accompany me to pick up Mari? She’d love to see that you’re doing better this morning,” Damian said and Lana nodded.

“Sure. But I won’t be able to stay long, I shouldn’t leave Cocoa alone much longer, especially since it’s time for breakfast,” Lana replied and Damian nodded.

“Understood. Let’s head over now and I can drop you off after Mari sees that you’re well,” Damian replied and Lana nodded, eating a slice of toast and some fruit before standing up with Damian to head out.

“I’ll talk to you later, Lana,” Alya called out before Lana left the room.

“Als, I’ll be heading out myself. Fresh air will do me some good. There’s also someone I want to visit,” Xan said and Alya nodded.

“Of course. Stay safe, Xan. And Don’t hesitate to call if you need help,” she replied and Xan nodded before getting up. “Dick?” she asked and Dick smiled.

“Yup, we should get going ourselves,” Dick agreed.

“Don’t die,” Tim called out.

“No promises, you’ve seen, Mr. Lingo,” Dick yelled back as the three left the room and Tim nodded agreement.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Mari beamed when she saw Damian and Lana entering the hotel lobby. Jumping up from her seat at the table, she ran over to the two and hugged Lana while her friends smiled from the table. “I’m so sorry for what happened, Lana! I should have asked first before making them!” Mari said as Lana returned the hug before pushing Mari back a bit to look Mari in the eyes and give her a gentle smile.

“It’s ok, Mari. Nothing bad happened. And I should have also asked about it. It’s my problem to remember, not yours. As much as I’d like to stay and talk, I need to get home, Cocoa is waiting for me,” Lana said, squeezing Mari’s shoulders as she spoke. Mari returned the small smile as she nodded.

“Ok,” she said before perking up. “Wait!” she rushed over to their table and Chloe held out the bag of cookies to her. She grabbed the bag and ran back over to the two. “Here, I made these for you! Don’t worry, I made sure nothing pecan came near them!”

Lana smiled softly as she took the bag and put them carefully into her pocket and pulled Mari into another hug. “Thank you,” she whispered before pulling back once more.

“I’ll be back after I drop her off, angel,” Damian said, causing to Mari to blush lightly as she nodded understanding. As the two turned away to leave, Lana had a teasing smile after giggling softly at Mari’s blush.

“‘Angel’, huh?” she asked, sending him a look that had Damian blushing lightly. Before the door closed behind the two, Mari and her friends listened to Lana laugh. Mari walked over to the table and continued to eat her breakfast while her friends sent her looks.

“I think you found yourself a ~ _ boyfriend _ ~,” Lila said in a sing-song voice. Mari’s blush deepened at that.

“I-no-!-He-!” Mari stuttered out, unable to form a single sentence while her friends laughed around her. “Oh!” she crossed her arms on the table and slammed her head down onto them. Adrien smiled softly as he patted her back while Lila covered her mouth with her hand to stifle giggles.

“Don’t worry Maribug, I’m sure he’d be delighted to be dating you,” Adrien said as Chloe nodded agreement next to him, leaning closer against him to look at her.

“Adrikins is right! He’d be a fool to not want to date you,” Chloe declared with a nod that the others shared.

“I agree. If he doesn’t ask you out today, then you need to do it yourself Mari,” Kim said with a serious look

“I-I wouldn’t even know how to!” Mari said with wide eyes and the table chuckled softly or shook their heads.

“Just be straight forward. Say how you feel then ask ‘would you go out on a date with me?’. Or, if that’s too scary ask him to hang out with you,  _ alone _ ,” Lila said and the group nodded agreement. Right then, the doors opened showing Damian entering with two people.

“Jon!” Chloe yelled out excited and the two got up quickly and ran over to Jon. Jon smiled as he hugged the two.

“I know it’s only been a couple of days, but that’s two days too long,” Jon whispered and the two nodded agreement.

“Definitely,” Chloe said pulling him to the table. Jon happily let them pull him to a table and sat between the two, holding their hands.

“Jon and Ember were walking by as I came back,” Damian said as Ember waved to them with a smile.

“Hi! It’s nice to meet Jon and Damian’s friends! Damian doesn’t admit it, but we’re friends,” Ember greeted, saying the last part in a mock whispered that had the group snorting while Damian rolled his eyes. “But call me Elle! Practically everyone does,” she said as the group smiled at her.

“How’d you meet him?” Kim asked leaning onto the table, wanting to know the story since when he first met Damian so long ago the dude was rather cold still.

“Jon. I was friends with Jon since he helped me in elementary school. And so then Jon and Damian became sorta friends. When that happened, I was introduced to Damian. It was hard but he likes me now,” she said and the group nodded.

“Is he still called ‘Ice Prince’?” Nino asked, pushing his cap back a bit.

“Oh ya. I have been warned against talking to him by like....everyone it seems at some point since I joined GA this year,” Ember said with a laugh and Damian had a smirk at that, a soft snort leaving him that only Mari heard.

“Really? Why’s that?” Max asked then, pausing in his typing on his phone.

“All the freshmen get warned about him. Even tho it was...what.... _ years _ ago that you broke a kid’s arm?” Ember asked looking over at Damian who nodded.

“Yes. I broke a kids arm when I was in fifth grade. Give or take 8 years ago,” Damian replied and Ember nodded.

“Wait......freshmen? You were warned about him even thou you were there for that?” Kim asked confused and Ember shook her head.

“I wasn’t there for that exactly. I’m a freshman right now....well sophomore now while they’re seniors.”

“Oh, ok. You’re younger than them,” Nino replied and Ember nodded with a smile.

“H-hey, Mari?” a timid voice called. The group turned to see Alya standing there looking rather shy, which was weird for them. “I talked to Ms. Bustier and got us the day off. I thought you’d like to have a break from working and hang out with your friends,” Alya said and Mari gave the girl a small smile and nod.

“Thank you, Alya,” Mari said and Alya gave Mari one last timid smile before going back to the others that were sort of being shunned by Mari and her friends.

“That was nice of her,” Damian commented as he watched Alya sit down, looking down, he could only guess it was her phone.

“It was,” Mari agreed, she knew, or could guess that is, why Alya was doing it. But she wasn’t sure she’d be able to forgive Alya and the others yet, let alone become their friends again, after everything.

“Since we have the day off, why don’t we do something?” Lila asked with a tilt of her head. The group nodded excitedly in agreement.

“We should! Maybe a park?” Sabrina suggested and the group nodded as Mari looked over at Damian with a tilt of her head.

“Are there any parks you’d suggest for us to visit?” Mari asked and Damian’s head tilted just slightly as he thought about it before nodding.

“Yes. There’s a lovely park a few miles away. Not many people visit it due to it being owned by Poison Ivy, but that’s even better since there won’t be any ruckus to disturb the beauty,” Damian said, and that had Mari beaming.

“Really? Let’s go!” Mari said and the group laughed softly at her eagerness. They all stood up and left the hotel, following Damian as he led the way while Ember chatted with Lila about the two, and Jon was distracted by his girlfriend and boyfriend.

Damian had the softest look on his face as he watched Mari look around the park in awe. He watched as she flitted about sketching things and taking pictures. Jon had a small smile as he looked between his lovers and Damian. “You should ask her out,” Jon said softly as Mari talked excitedly with her friends.

“Maybe I will,” Damian said softly as he started making his way over to Mari. Mari glanced over curious when Lila pointed out he was coming over. “May I speak to you alone?” he asked and Mari nodded and followed him to a willow tree at the corner and pack of the park with lanterns hanging intermittently from its branches.

_ Foxy @actingfordays _

_ OMG!!! Look what’s happening!!! Is it what I think!?!? #omg #isit? #opt *picture of Damian and Mari under the willow tree* _

_ A Blocked Owl @owlforlife _

_ Oh my god. THE OTP IS HAPPENING!!! #otp #iceprincesunshine #sunshinechild _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so this update was delayed....but I did get this done BEFORE wednesday!! So hah! I hope you guys enjoyed this chap! I bet you guys can guess whats gonna happen next chap!! Until next time!! -Love Willa<3<3<3


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so here’s the next chap!! The MUCH AWAITED SHIP WILL SAIL!!! ( ;) ) Anyways, I won’t make you wait any longer, ENJOY!!!

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Mari asked with a tilt of her head. Seeing her do that, Damian had to glance away for a bit to keep himself from blushing which was weird for him.

He didn’t blush.

At least......

He didn’t before  _ her _ .

“I....” he started but then trailed off. He was so used to knowing what to do. How to take someone down. How to outwit his opponent. But. he didn’t know what to do now. How could he? While Jon worked on his relations side with Mari, he didn’t learn how to deal with  _ feelings. _ With a breath he decided being blunt would be best, nothing to hide and just tell her how he felt. And hope that she returns his feelings.  _ Oh, this must be how Jon felt before he confessed to Chloe and Adrien _ , he realized, making a slight face unconsciously which had Mari looking at him concerned.

“Dami?” she asked softly and Damian realized she saw and that more than a minute had passed since he first uttered ‘I’.

“Yes, I need to tell you this. I’m just trying to figure out how to say it, is all,” he admitted and Mari nodded understanding. With a deep breath, he forged onward. “Marinette, I don’t know how or when, but you have invaded my thoughts for this past year without me even knowing it. I care very deeply for you. Would you be willing to go out on a date with me?” he asked, watching her face as different things flashed by as she processed what he said.

_ He likes me! He really does! They were right! God, Chloe was  _ right _ . All this time? _ she thought, her mouth opening and closing a few times as it finally registered that this was  _ real _ . She started nodding frantically with a big smile.

“I really like you as well, Dami! I was too scared to say something tho,” Mari admitted quickly, shutting her eyes a bit embarrassed. Damian smiled softly as he pulled Mari into a hug. Startling her from her thoughts was his soft laugh as she then wrapped her arms around him as well.

“How about tonight? You have the day off,” he said and Mari nodded. “Ok, I’ll pick you up at 6 then,” he whispered and Mari pulled back with a smile and stood on the tips of her toes to press a kiss to his cheek before pulling away with a breathless smile.   
“Sounds perfect,” she whispered, trailing her hands to his and tangling their fingers together. Damian had a soft smile as he raised their conjoined hands up and pressed a kiss to her fingers. A blush dusted her cheeks, highlighting the sparse freckles she had over her cheeks and nose. Leaning her head against his arm, they walked back to the group, a dopey smile on her lips.

“Congrats Mari!” Lila said running over to hug Mari tightly as the others made their way over and congratulated them as well. “I’m so happy for you,” she continued and Mari smiled as she nodded agreement.

“I am too,” she said softly as her friends had soft smiles on their faces. “So, when are you going to ask out  _ him _ ?” Mari asked with a teasing tone causing her friend to blush. Damian chuckled softly from beside her.

“I assume you’re talking about Xan?” he asked and the group nodded as Lila squeaked and nodded. “Let me tell you this, you know what he’s been thru, at least part of it, you better not break his heart.  _ Especially _ , if he decides to tell you more about what he has been thru. Got it?” Damian asked giving her a look. Lila swallowed the lump in her throat as she nodded understanding.

“O-ok. Promise,” she said softly and Damian gave a short nod at that.

“It’s getting close to lunch, is Xan available?” Mari asked looking over at Damian with a tilt of her head.

“I imagine he’s talking to someone we were both close to then right now. We can go see if he is available,” Damian said and the group nodded.

“Let’s go see. Where is he?” she asked as Damian started leading them out of the park.

“He’s at a store called Rose Petal’s Boutique talking with Rae, a woman from our past,” Damian replied and Mari nodded.

“Is it to help him heal?” Kim asked that time, knowing that sometimes talking to someone who’s had a similar experience can help.

“In a way, yes,” Damian started with a nod as they stopped at an intersection to wait for the light. “Fu helped him, but talking about it with someone who had something similar is better. Because then you know someone knows how you feel and sometimes able to offer insight to something you may not have realized,” he continued and Kim nodded agreement as they started walking once more.

“Hope this woman can help him, man,” Kim muttered softly as he returned the squeeze he felt Max give his hand.

“She can,” Damian assured as they got closer to the boutique. They soon reached it, the group looking at it with nods at the design. It was the typical design for most Gotham buildings, a few cracks here and there. But the sign was a vibrant white with the name of the boutique in a swirling deep red color like the Freedom Red Rose. Rose petals were scattered across the sign as if in a wind, a few interacting with the name as if connecting the letters.

A window display showed a few creations the boutique had but the inside was hidden from view by a divider. Etched around the edges of the glass was the same rose petal design. Damian opened the door, a bell chiming in response to the door swinging into the building. Mari and Damian entered the shop while the rest of them waited outside.

“Hello! Welcome to Rose Petal’s Boutique! How can I help you?” a woman asked moving toward them.

“I was hoping to speak to Rae, please. Is she in the back?” Damian asked and the woman nodded.

“Of course. Be warned she is talking to another person,” the woman warned and Damian nodded before leading Mari to the back. There he knocked once before pushing the door open. Sharp, deep green eyes looked over at them when the door opened. Her right nostril had a rose-gold colored piercing and the middle of her lip had a matching colored ring going thru it. Her hair was pulled back into a messy pony-tail with a rose clip holding back some of her bangs. A smile painted her lips when she realized who it was. “Damian. It’s so good to see you again,” she greeted happily pulling him into a brief hug before looking over at Mari. “Who’s this?” she asked, smiling softly at seeing the two glance at each other before blushing.

“This is Marinette, Rae. The girl I was telling you about,” he said and Rae smiled as she pulled Mari into a hug.

“Hello, Marinette. It’s nice to meet you. Damian and Xan talk a lot about you,” Rae said smiling teasingly as Xan rolled his eyes.

“I don’t think I should be included since well, I just talked about her,” he pointed out and Rae waved her hand at that.

“No matter. Now, what can I do for you two?”

“We came by to see if Xan, and you, would like to go get some lunch with Mari and her friends,” Damian said as Mari nodded eagerly and Rae smiled softly at that, sending Damian a subtle look that Mari missed but Xan caught as Damian looked away, the faintest of blushes on his cheeks.

“I’d love to go, but after my shift, I need to head over to my restaurant to speak with the builders. I don’t get a lunch break, sorry,” Rae said and Damian nodded, looking over at Xan.

“I’d like that,” Xan said moving from his spot. As they headed into the main shop area Rae stopped them.

“I fully expect to see you and all your friends at the grand opening of  ** _Janat Al'Amal_ ** next week,” she said and the group nodded.

“I’ll even bring Jason with, I’m sure he’d enjoy your food,” Damian said and Rae chuckled with a shake of her head.

“Don’t hesitate to visit!” Rae called out one last time before the closed behind them. Damian raised a hand in acknowledgment.

“Xan!” Lila beamed as she made her way over to him and hugged him in greeting. Xan had a soft smile on his lips as he hugged Lila back before greeting the others with either hugs or handshakes.

“So, where are we off too?” Xan asked looking between everyone.

“How about a cafe?” Mari suggested and the group nodded.

“Sounds perfect,” Damian replied, squeezing her hand before leading them to a cafe nearby.

“Xan....I think we have some stuff that we should talk about,” Lila whispered looking up at Xan, she may have grown a bit, but she still had to crane to look. Xan tilted his head, a bit of dread filling him but he nodded. They hadn’t talked much about what she heard at the reunion between him and his sisters. They should have, but he could admit he didn’t want to.

_ Looks like there’s no avoiding it _ , he thought before nodding. “Ok, when we order our drinks and something to eat we’ll talk,” he replied just as softly. Damian and Mari glanced back to look at them before looking ahead once more. Mari rested her head against Damian’s arm once more, squeezing his hand.

“You think everything will go well?” she asked and the softest hums left Damian as he thought about it.

“From what I’ve seen of Lila, I think they’ll end up fine,” he replied softly after a bit and she nodded agreement.

“I hope so,” she agreed softly. They soon reached the cafe in question and got in line. When all the orders were made and paid for- Damian sneakily paid for all the drinks much to her friends, mostly Jon’s, annoyance, and the barista’s joy as she giggled -they scattered around the shop. Nino and Sabrina found a couch to chat and was joined by Chloe, Adrien, and Jon. Kim and Max were nearby at a table.

Damian and Mari were a bit farther from them at a table for two. Mari was smiling shyly at Damian as they talked about their date that night.

Xan smiled as he pulled Lila’s chair out for her and pushed it in when she sat down. “Thank you Xan,” Lila said with a small smile as Xan picked up their orders and brought them over before sitting down across from her. They were a good distance away from the others as well. He drummed his fingers along his cup as he cupped it between his hands. He was looking down at it, taking a breath before looking up at Lila once more. She could only watch as concern, nerves, worry -whatever you would call it- float around in his eyes.  _ Such a gorgeous color, there shouldn’t be any room in those silver eyes for anything but joy _ , she thought to herself.

“S-so what did you want to talk about?” he asked nervously, pulling Lila out of her thoughts. As his fingers drumming increased she reached a hand over the table and covered his hand, slowly pulling it from the cup to hold it.

“Well......I think there are a few things we need to talk about,” she said slowly and Xan nodded at that.

“I’m so sorry you had to hear that. I didn’t-no-I wasn’t-” he groaned as he tried finding the correct words. “I didn’t plan on you finding out,” he got out and Lila squeezed his hand.

“Where you ever gong to tell me? I  _ care _ about, Xander. A lot, and I want you to feel safe around me to tell me things. I want to help you in any way I can,” Lila replied and Xan nodded at that slowly.

“I wasn’t sure how you take it. Only Fu, Damian, and Jason really know what I went thru. I left a ton out when I told Als and Lana. I didn’t want to lose you....because of my past,” he whispered looking down into his cup before feeling Lila cupping his hand in both of hers. He looked up to see her eyes burning with a determination, making her green eyes sparkle.

“You could never lose me, Xan. You don’t have to tell me everything, I get that this was a terrible thing to happen. I could  _ never _ blame you for something you couldn’t control. You did what you did to survive after being taken. All I care about is  _ you _ , right here, right now. Where you’re safe and sound and  _ breathing _ . I could  _ never _ fault you for doing something that ensured you lived another day,” she said, squeezing his hand with every word she put stress on. A water smile decorated his lips at hearing her speech. Pulling his hand from his cup he wiped away the tears that threatened to fall as relief coursed thru him.

“Thank you,” he whispered between chuckles that escaped him. She squeezed his hand at that, happy to hear him chuckling. “I was terrified this would end with you declaring us not friends anymore.”

“That could never happen,” Lila whispered, giving him the softest smiles that he returned when he finally got himself under control.

“So, what else was it that we needed to talk about?” he asked softly and Lila bit her lip.

She wasn’t ready.

Nope.

Nada.

_ But could she afford to wait? _

**No** .

If she didn’t do this now, she was worried she’d never do it. So, might as well rip the bandaid off.

“Xander....I  _ really _ like you. I have for a while now. This isn’t how you’d imagine a confession, I bet. But I had to say it. I really like you and would love to go out on a date with you,” Lila said glancing thru her lashes to look at Xan’s face. Xan was looking at her a bit shocked and surprised.

She was right.

He did  _ not _ expect that.

But as the shock and surprise faded, he smiled softly at her and covered one of her hands with his own. He then squeezed them prompting her to look up. “I really like you too. How about Saturday night?”

That had Lila shocked but she then beamed at him. “Saturday!” she agreed, not seeing their friends smiling over at them happily.

_ Almost There @proudgothamite _

_ Well, I’ll be doing something I haven’t done in a long time. You’ll get to see it soon #oldhobby #herewego #hopethiswillbefun _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap!! Man, this was *quicker* than old updates lol. Ok, so, I’ll be starting online classes soon *cough whispers* n maybe moving soon again *cough*, so updates will be WEIRD. I’m givni this warnin since one of my classes game us the warning that we need to go to LIBRARIES for a few assignments......and that some(all apparently) will need at least a couple of weeks to do? So ya......that happened...and that was only ONE of my classes......so I guess.....wish me luck? Until next time!! -Love Willa<3<3<3


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so here’s the next chap!! Date night for Daminette and...i still dont got a ship name for em...Dick/Alya/Xavier. Please help my sad ass out n suggest some possible ship names for em. Could be their names mashed together like daminette or even somethin bout personality or jobs. Idk, just somethin that fits em n doesn’t sound weird. Thank you very much. Anyways, it’s the date chap!! Next chap, idk maybe it’ll be xanila(Xan/Lila does that sound fine or ew?), or it could be a battle....ehehe or somethin else~. Ok, enjoy!

Alya giggled as she took the offered rose from Dick. “How long have you had this?” she asked with a tilt of her head as the officers around them cooed.

“I ordered it at lunch and had Sarah pick it up for me on her way back from her break an hour ago,” Dick replied with a soft smile as he took Alya’s other hand as she returned the smile.

“Why not wait to get it for when you pick me up after I get changed? While sweet, I’d rather not go out all grimy from a day of hard work,” she said and Dick gave a small shrug as he gave her hand a squeeze.

“Maybe I wanted to give it to you before we part?” he asked with his signature charming smile on his lips as he watched a faint blush decorate her cheeks.

“Oh! God, I forgot how cheesy you could be,” she said as Dick moved his other hand to push a strand of her hair behind her ear.

“Only for you and Xavier,” he whispered with a smile as she turned her face away from Dick because she knew she’d be blushing harder if she was looking at him.

“We should get going,” she mumbled and he nodded agreement.

“Yes, lets,” he agreed, leading her out of the precinct, waving to their coworker friends.

“Go get it, Alya!” one shouted causing Alya to laugh while her blush deepened knowing exactly what they meant.

“Maybe after the next date!” she shouted back before the doors closed behind them. Dick chuckled softly next to her as they reached her car.

“See you in an hour,” Dick whispered raising her hand to his lips to place a kiss onto her fingers.

“An hour,” she agreed, squeezing his hand before letting go and slipping into her car as he then held the door open. She smiled softly at him as he closed the door for her. Giving one last wave she left the precinct and he went to his own car to head home to get ready for his date. Once he was home, he ran past his brothers to clean up and put on a blue button-up and black pants. As he walked down the stairs he rolled the sleeves up to his elbows.

“Lookin spiffy Dickie boy. Got a hot date?” Jason asked with a smirk and Dick rolled his eyes.

“Yes, I do. Two hot dates even,” he said with a smirk, and that had Jason pausing.

“Damn, you actually asked them out. I’d have thought it’d take longer,” Jason said, causing Dick to once more roll his eyes.

“Har har har. I’m off now, hopefully, I’ll be able to beat rush hour. Go tease Damian for me,” Dick said grabbing his keys and Jason smirked as he started turning around.

“Not on your life, Todd!” Damian yelled out as his voice echoed thru the manor before it disappeared.

“Damian is leaving as well, Master Jason,” Alfred said and Jason turned to find Dick already out of the manor as well and frowned. “Please fetch Master Tim from work if he’s not back by 7,” Alfred said and Jason nodded. Getting the nod, Alfred turned around to continue what he was doing. The drive to Xavier’s home was quick. Xavier waved as he made his way to the car and slipped into the passenger seat, giving Dick a sweet smile. Dick returned the sweet smile as he looked over Xavier who seemed to be in his usual attire of a button-up shirt(a deep ocean blue instead of the white he wore at work), black pants, and his usual bowtie in a deep green that went well with the blue shirt.

“Hey. You look amazing, Dick,” Xavier whispered, taking Dick’s hand into his to give it a squeeze before they pulled away from the apartment complex.

“Hey, you look great yourself, Xavier. How’s your family?” Dick asked as they started toward Alya’s apartment.

“Melody is done with everyone at the hotel and the dance company is not appreciating her busy schedule. However, for mum, everything is fairly smooth sailing at the boutique. How are your brothers?” Xavier asked looking over at Dick, watching as the flickering on street lamps light up his face.

“Lovable pain in the asses. Jason gets a kick when he has to pull someone from their work, Tim gets distracted by his work so he’s the recipient of that. Damian is actually going out on a date with the girl he’s been crushing on for a while now. Duke is finally getting back tomorrow at some point, it really depends on how many stops the buses make. Steph and Cass. We have no idea when they’ll get back but they said things are going well over there so here’s to hoping,” Dick explained with a chuckle that Xavier shared.

“Tim is co-CEO of WE right?”

“Yes, why?” Dick tilted his head curiously at the question while Xavier chuckled.

“Melody said she had to go talk to CEO Tim about some things the board over her hotel have done since her GM is hiding from doing it even thou she’s not the most qualified too,” Xavier explained and Dick nodded at that.

“Ah, lazy people. But knowing Tim, hearing what’s wrong he’ll try fixing those mistakes,” Dick replied and Xavier nodded agreement from what he'd seen of Tim. They soon reached Alya’s apartment complex and watched with smiles as Alya seemed to be telling Xan something before hugging him and heading out. “Wow,” was all that left the two as they took in Alya wearing a fit and flare deep purple dress. A slim black belt around her waist covering the seam at the waist. She kept on her studs from work and had a black string necklace tied in a bow around her neck. She kept her makeup much the same with only eyeliner and pink lipstick. Her hair was braided and tied with a black ribbon and on her feet were small black, kitten wedges.

“Hi,” she whispered shyly when Xavier slipped from the car and held the door open for her so she could take the passenger seat. “You look great. You kept on your bow tie,” she said moving to straighten the bow tie since it moved since he left his apartment.

“Obviously, they’re part of the package. And may I say, you look lovely,” Xavier said, causing a faint blush to dust her cheeks when she smiled at him and squeezed his hand before he closed the door.

“Xavier’s correct, you look beautiful,” Dick said causing her blush to deepen. She was used to the precinct being silly what with complimenting everyone, especially her after she dressed like a Greek Goddess for Dick’s Halloween party for their coworkers(she couldn’t even remember who she dressed as, Dick remembers tho). She would have thought that conversation would have stopped since it’s been at least a couple of years. But alas. But hearing her dates say it, that was different than a friend.

“You two look quite handsome yourself,” Alya replied, happy to see faint blushes on their faces as well.

“I have a feeling, this will go well,” Dick said as they started toward the restaurant Dick got reservations for.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Damian had a small smile on his lips as he waited for Mari to come down. He glanced at his watch, pleased to see they had some time still before it was time for their reservation.

Lila smiled at Mari as the girl twitched beside her in the elevator. “Everything will be fine, Mari. You look amazing! That dress you made is amazing, it will knock his socks off. He clearly really likes you, I doubt you could do anything to make him change his mind, ok?” Lila asked and Mari nodded. She rubbed her hands down the red spaghetti-strapped dress, along the hemline were hidden ladybugs. Around her waist was a corset-like lace up belt that clipped together in the back, around the ribbon lace-up was black floral lace with hidden ladybugs. She left her purse in the room but Tikki and Kalki(along with Kalki’s glasses) were in her dress’s hidden pockets. She had a cropped black jacket over the dress with the lining inside red. She had on simple blac, kitten heels.

Mari gave her friend a small smile. ”Thanks, Lila. And tomorrow, I’ll help you prepare for your date with Xan on Saturday,” Mari said and Lila nodded agreement as they reached the lobby.

“Ok, see you later. Don’t stay out too late. Have fun,” Lila said, pulling the girl into a hug. Mari returned the hug before pulling away and leaving the elevator. With one last wave, Mari went throu the swinging door and left the hotel with a smile.

“Hi, Dami,” Mari greeted shyly as she reached Damian’s car. Damian was leaning against the car and smiled at Mari.

“Hello, Angel. May I say you look gorgeous,” he said, taking one of her hands into his and raising it to his lips to press a kiss to her hand. Mari smiled softly at that as she blushed.

“As long as I can return the sentiment. You look quite dashing,” she said and Damian smiled as he opened the door for her. When she was in and settled, he closed the door and made his way to the driver's seat. “Be prepared for in case our date gets interrupted, Dami,” she warned and he nodded with a smirk.

“Of course. Should you need help, I came prepared as well,” he replied, jerking his head to the backseat were a duffle bag sat inconspicuously. She smiled thankfully at that and took one of his hands into her and gave it a squeeze.

“Thank you,” she whispered, holding his hand between hers as he started driving.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Tim sighed as he scribbled some stuff down into his notes. He glanced up at his laptop to continue skimming over the report. His comm buzzed and he stopped writing to press a button to talk to his secretary. “Yes, Carrie?” he asked, tilting his head a bit.

“ _ A, Miss Reeves, is here to speak to you. She works at the Crown Coast Hotel as an OM. Her hotel is housing the internship class, _ ” Carrie said and Tim hummed in thought as to what the OM would need.

“Send her in,” Tim sighed out, he was so close to escaping the company. The door to his office swung open slowly to reveal a woman who looked similar to Dick’s date Xavier, her skin a couple shades lighter, which means this must be his sister Melody. She was wearing her Hotel’s uniform which was a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, the logo right where a name tag would go. Her shirt was tucked into a black pencil skirt, and she had on black ballet flats. She somehow got her wavy-tight curls under control to be in a ponytail held by a red ribbon, no doubt there was a hair tie under it. “Hello, you must be Melody Reeves,” he greeted her and she gave him a smile as she went to shake his hand after moving a file to her other hand.

“Good evening, Mr. Drake-Wayne. I’m sorry to come on such short notice but your board that oversees all the hotels WE owns have made a mistake for my hotel,” she started and Tim nodded as he sat down behind his desk and pushed his notebook away to focus on the woman in front of him as she sat down across from him and leaned forward a bit to place the file onto his desk.

“Really? If that’s the case how come you came down and not the GM?” he asked curious since this seems to be something above her position's duties. A scowl painted her lips as she shook her head, her hair flying behind her.

“It’s because my GM doesn’t like to do the duties assigned to him. I brought it up to him when I realized but he didn’t want to come here and disturb you sir. But this cannot wait,” she explained and he nodded as he opened the file. While nothing stood out, he knew that Melody would know more since she was working at the hotel.

“What seems to be the problem then? I’m not well versed on the ins and outs of running or working in a hotel,” he said and she nodded and pointed to the first thing listed that the board agreed on.

“Starting here, the board ordered us to supply our sister hotel with spare microwaves and such appliances. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but as it is, most of our supply is in use. The few remaining we have we can’t give out since most of our’s are on their last legs. As it is, we are keeping a couple rooms unoccupied to strip them of anything we can to give to other rooms. And we’ve asked the board for help but they are leaving us to use the money we make to place the items but we don’t have enough money. Any money left is being squirreled away to either pay our employees or the repair men we call in when something major breaks,” she started pointing to different things under the first point so that he could understand better. As she explained he nodded along and started writing in the margins of the file.

This is how the next hour is spent for Tim, listening to everything the board decided for the next few months will go for a hotel is bad. They were just finishing up when Jason knocked as he pushed open the door. “Ready to go, Timmy-boi?” he asked with a sideways grin. Tim shook his head, glancing between Melody and Jason.

“Not yet, Jason. Give me a few more moments while I finish up this meeting with Ms. Reeves,” he said and Jason nodded and went to sit on one of the couches in Tim’s office. He glanced out and watched as two shadows, a girl and boy he could make out, jump across roofs. His eyes widened and he glanced back to Tim who was shaking the woman's hand.

“Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I’ll speak to the board about this in the morning and make the appropriate changes,” he said and the woman had a grateful smile, seemingly brightening up the room in Tim’s opinion.

“No, thank  _ you _ , Tim. Have a good night,” she said standing up and walking from the room and closing the door behind her.

“Tim, tell me you have binoculars in your office,” he said and Tim nodded wondering what Jason saw as he snatched the binoculars out of Tim’s hands. As he zoomed in on the two, he could tell the girl was in her early 20s and the boy late teens. They had stuff covering their faces, probably a precaution to protect themselves.

“What is it?” Tim asked, looking over Jason’s shoulders and making out the two shadowy figures.

“It seems there’s two people training. For what, I don’t know,” Jason said as he gave Tim the binoculars. Tim looked at the two and nodded agreement. They knew each other definitely and the moves they did weren’t filled with any intention besides practicing. As he lowered them, the two took off and Tim hummed. “What do you say?”

“I say those moves look familiar no?” Tim asked and Jason slowly nodded agreement. “There’s only a few people who know how to fight like that and most are busy. So that means that that is Xan. Which most likely means Lana’s with him. He’s probably training with her to prevent what happened to him happening to anyone else in the family,” Tim said and Jason slowly nodded.

“That would make sense, but Joker was the only one crazy enough to work with the League. And he’s out of the picture. Thank fucking god tho,” Jason muttered the last part under his breath. Tim couldn’t help overhearing tho and he couldn’t agree more with him. “But I guess, you can never be too prepared,” he continued and Tim nodded.

“Let’s not tell Bruce. We can’t stop people from preparing themselves to defend their home or family when they get caught up in a Rouge attack,” Tim said and Jason nodded agreement.

“Now, we need to get home. I don’t want to have Alfred giving me his disappointed look,” Jason said and Tim nodded, picking up his stuff and following him out. As he left his office he smiled at Carrie.

“Goodnight, Carrie. Don’t stay too late,” he called and Carrie nodded, pushing back some hair that had left her perfectly styled bun. He’d have told her to relax but knew she didn’t need to. The one time he brought her soup when she had laryngitis showed him that when she was at home she was relaxed. He could respect that she liked having everything look perfect when at work.

“Will do, sir. Goodnight,” she called back as she sent emails to assistants to make a meeting of the board for tomorrow morning.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

“Come on, Alya should be getting back soon. I want to know everything,” Lana said smiling over at Xan who nodded.

“Alright. We can continue tomorrow. Would you be ok with Damian and Mari coming along to help? They know more than me,” Xan replied and Lana nodded.

“Alright. If your sure they can help,” Lana agreed and Xan smiled with a nod.

_ If only you knew. Of course, they may tell you when they hear what your doing....we should also tell Als _ , Xan thought to himself as they ran across the rooftops to reach Alya’s place.

_ Alster @Bi_Arrow _

_ Had the best time with these two. Can't wait to go out with them again #datenight #wentwell #hadagreattime #poly *Alya smiling happily at the camera as her arms are wrapped around Dick and Xavier’s arms. The two are smiling softly as they lean in close to her* _

_ Mari-aculous @MDC_Designs _

_ Can’t believe we waited so long to do this. But it was worth the wait #untilnexttime #cantwait #date _

_ Damian @BloodBorne _

_ I’m glad you had a good time as well. Sleep well. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap!! This was fast(relatively since it was delayed by my want to update a different fic but I got this out in like three days about). I hope you guys enjoyed this new chap!! I had fun writing this chap and we saw some things happening~~!! Maybe you can guess! Anyways, until next chap! -Love Willa<3<3<3


	22. Planning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap for the fic!! This is going surprisingly quickly considering I have classes. Any delays that happen now r due to my sisters cat comin over and cuddling me preventin me from workin lol. Lol. Anyways, here’s the next chap, I do hope you enjoy this next chap!

“Ok, so you really  _ do _ know more about this….I thought Xan was bluffing about at least Mari knowing,” Lana said looking at the two in front of her in shock. Damian had put on the mask he wore as Robin and showed her the weapons he carried on his personal 24/7. Mari just transformed into Ladybug and then transformed. “But how come you revealed your identities to me?” she asked figuring Xan only knew from an accident or they told him when he doubted they could help him from what happened(it was easy to guess Damian before he told him YES he was Robin, and Ladybug ya, probably an accident but purposeful).

The two shared a look before looking at her once more. “Well, we can see that your not going to stop training to do what Damian and I do. So we might as well help you. Both in and out of the uniform. I’ll help you two get the right items for your suits,” Mari said smiling gently at Lana which she returned. Damian clapped Xan on the shoulder and nodded.

“Not to mention, what you’re planning is quite noble. It would help us so that we can focus on gangs and the big boys when they escape,” Damian added and the two nodded again.

“Thank you for agreeing. I just couldn’t stand watching someone getting hurt and not being able to do anything. I won’t let anyone else go throu what I did,” Lana said giving a slight nod as the three shared scowls at the thought. Even though it all happened when they were young, they still hated not being able to help. Granted tho, Damian also knew he would have probably killed the man given a chance, so it was smart to not let him out.

“With our help, you’ll be able to do just that. And you’ll be able to call on one of us should you need help,” Damian added and once more, Lana sent him a thankful smile.

“Now, Xan why don’t you give me an idea of what you’re wanting to use when you go out and I’ll be able to get an idea of what fabric will work best,” Mari said and Xan nodded as they went to the table in Lana’s apartment. Cocoa rubbed herself against their legs before going to play with them or nuzzling their feet. Damian and Lana cleared an area out(granted that didn't mean much since she didn’t own lots of things) and got into fighting stances.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Mari beamed at the two as Damian took her back to the hotel. They spent a good two hours with Lana and Xan, each sparring against Damian at first while the other talked to Mari. In Mari’s sketchbook, she had a good idea about what they were thinking of and was planning on looking into many different fabrics that would work.

But that would be later.

Right now, she had to get back to Lila and help her plan what to wear for her date tomorrow.

She was beyond lucky that Gotham Academy was letting them do school work online for a week to get used to it before the semester started up again in September, a good couple of months away.

She smiled softly over at Damian as she took his hand into hers and gave it a squeeze as she leaned her head against his shoulder. “That was pretty sweet of you to help Lana, and Xan but he’s more prepared than her,” she said as they walked down the sidewalk and Damian gave a one-shoulder shrug.

“It was just the smart thing to do. Xan explained what was going on and I simply agreed to make sure they don’t get hurt. It’s obvious she would have gone out with or without our help. So, to make it easier, might as well help,” he replied looking forward even as he felt Mari squeeze his hand again.

“Still,” she hummed out. They walked in silence for some time. When her hotel came into view, she bit her lip. “Are you going to tell B?” That had Damian looking down at her before he looked straight ahead in thought.

“No,” he spoke after a minute, “It’s not my place to tell him. He won’t enjoy having two more vigilantes running around, but as long as they leave the big bads to us, he’ll leave them be. Only they can tell B. I won’t break their trusts,” he replied with a decisive nod.

“Good. They’ll appreciate that,” she said squeezing his hand as they paused outside the hotel.

“What about Lila?”

“I’ll tell her about myself when Hawkmoth is defeated-” she started with a sigh but was interrupted by her phone beeping. She pulled it out and scowled at seeing the headline. “Akuma,” she muttered and Damian nodded, glad to have brought his gear.

“First our date, and now the conversation. He has great timing,” Damian deadpanned. Mari giggled at that but soon grabbed his hand and ran into the hotel and up the stairs. Adrien appeared with Nino and she nodded.

“Figured you could use my help,” Nino said.

“That we will. Get to Fu’s shop to get his miraculous and meet us at the Seine,” Mari said as Mari and Adrien transformed. Mari then took out Kalki and merged while Damian quickly threw his gear on, managing to get the last piece on right as Mari opened the portal to Paris that landed halfway between Fu’s place and the Akuma in an alley.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

The four groaned out as they leaned against the walls of the stairwell. The battle was quick but painful. Mari and Adrien’s transformation fell and they shared a weak ‘pound it’. Nino was a better off, smiling at the two as he rubbed his wrist. The Turtle miraculous was back with Fu, she was glad that Nino was able to do that quickly in the two minutes they had left before de-transforming.

“Ok, now I really need to get back to Lila. She’s probably freaking out about her date tomorrow,” Mari said and the group nodded.

“I’ll join you, Angel,” Damian said when he finished getting out of the Robin suit. Mari smiled at him as they held hands and followed behind Adrien and Nino as they talked about what happened in the morning before the Akuma attack. Reaching their rooms, the duo’s separated, Adrien going to his and Nino’s room, and Mari and Damian heading to her room. Opening the door revealed Lila pacing and muttering to herself. On her bed were a few outfit options, and the closet looked messy, quite different than the orderly fashion she usually had it in.

“Whoa, Lila, are you ok?” Mari asked, startling the girl from her thoughts.

“Mari! No, I’m not! I’m panicking!” Lila said flinging herself over to Mari. Mari caught her easily and hugged her before pulling back to hold her hands.

“Don’t worry. Everything will go well. He really cares about you, Lila. Even Damian, who is quite frankly, bad at emotions some days, can see it,” she said, ignoring the offended look Damian was sending her. But it had the desired results.

Lila giggled.

Mari smiled at her friend as she then pulled her to the bed with Damian trailing behind them. “Ok, Damian, do you have any idea about what Xan would do for their date?” Mari asked and Damian hummed as he thought about the different things Xan appreciates.

“What time are you two going out?” he asked and Lila hummed.

“We didn’t set an exact time, but it’s going to be past evening,” she replied and Damian nodded.

“Ok, I can think of a couple things you would do. He’s probably going to take you to his favorite park here. Either before or after he’ll probably take you to a place you both enjoy, like a cafe, or a nice sit-down place,” Damian replied after a bit and Mari started nodding along.

“Ok, so you’ll probably want to dress warm. It can get pretty cold at night,” Mari said looking through the options and immediately putting back anything that was short and pulling out some longer items. “Did you want to wear a dress or are you fine with pants?” she asked, turning to her friend who bit her lip.

“I’m fine with whatever,” Lila replied and Mari nodded. After a bit, she put together three outfits. The first consisted of thick black leggings, a deep gray-blue sweater that went past her mid-thigh with tied bows at the wrists, and red combat boots and newspaper cap. The second one was a black tank top with a white oversized jacket, black shorts with thigh high tie up boots, The final one was a maxi-dress that practically covered her feet when she wore heels, it was a nice light purple with lavender and wild flowers going up from the bottom hem. Around the waist line was a thin black belt paired with 2 inch black sandal wedges.

“Ok, here are three options that would work. For the dress just wear some leggings underneath for more warmth,” Mari said and Lila beamed as she looked at the different options.

“Thank you Mari! And thank you Damian,” Lila said pulling her friend into a tight hug and just sending Damian a smile.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

** _Mari:_ ** _ got the samples. ill bring them over tom _

** _Lana:_ ** _ thank you Mari! your the best!! _

** _Xan:_ ** _ cool. see ya in the morning _

** _Mari:_ ** _ see ya then! _

Mari smiled as she walked back from the fabric store with the samples in hand. Tikki and Kalki pressed against her thigh throu her purse. She smiled softly as she patted the purse and stopped by a bakery to get some cookies and tea. At the counter she wrapped the cookies up with a few sugar cubes and put them into her purse so that they could snack on them as she walked back to WE to help Tim out a bit for a few hours.

_ Tired @prouodgothamite _

_ Here we go! I’m starting a How-To channel explaining how to do things in Figure/Ice Skating and Parkour. My therapist suggested it. I hope you guys enjoy it #iceskating #parkour #howto #explaining #videos *youtube link showing the thumbnail of Lana in ice skating gear on the ice with ‘How To Do A Toe Loop’ next to her* _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap! Sorry it’s a bit short. When I was writing it, two of my sisters' cats, Bonito and Snowflake(but she’s named Sunflower but I like my name for her), kept jumping onto me to cuddle which is adorable. But bad for me since I am allergic to them. So that had me out all day yesterday since I could barely think. I kept having to blow my nose, my eyes were irritated 90% of the time even thou I had taken both my allergy meds n antihistamine(spelling what?) eye drops. And then I got a headache. So ya, all that just threw what I had planned out the window and I couldn’t catch it. So ya. But anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chap. I’m wanting to write some more joker n mari buddy fics so please leave a PROMPT(joker will be ooc, cause thats the only way im doin buddies joker n mari(excludin that new fic i put where mari snapped)). Until next time!! -Love Willa<3<3<3


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap!! So I’m going to skip the date scene cause I’d just butcher it but it did happen and it DID go well. I hope you guys enjoy it!! Also, check out my Tumblr for an announcement! Tumblr: ranger-gothamite

Lana couldn’t help but softly smile with a laugh at seeing Xan’s face as they walked throu Gotham. He had the happiest face ever from how well his date went with Lila on Saturday. Even days later, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Lila was with them along with Mari, Damian, Kim, and Bee. Haya was busy doing commissions and her Lila, L, had a date but she wouldn’t tell them the name yet since she wanted to see how it went first. Two couples held hands as they walked. Nino and Chloe were doing some last minute stuff and would meet them up after.

“So, Lana,” Bee starts looking at her friend curiously and Lana tilts her head toward her friend. The others are looking at them as well, wondering what Bee was going to ask. “Have you thought about getting a coach?”

“Coach? For what?”

“For your ice skating! You’re really good at it,” Bee said, smiling encouragingly at her friend and Lana grew flustered at that as everyone nodded agreement.

“W-well. I don’t know. I’m not  _ that _ good. It’s been years since I did a competition. I doubt any coach would want me,” Lana said waving a hand and Bee scowled as she took Lana’s hand and squeezed it.

“You are good. Don’t put yourself down. I’m sure lots of coaches would want you,” Bee said giving Lana a look as the others nodded.

“Ya, Lana! Don’t put yourself down,” Xan replied this time and Lana just gave a one-shoulder shrug.

“I-’ll think about it.” With that they continued walking toward the ice rink since everyone had wanted to do that. Mari shared a smile with Damian and pulled her phone out. Damian let her hand go so that she could message the man that offered to coach her what seems like forever ago. Damian looked at their group as the others talked to themselves while Mari quickly talked to Philippe.

Reaching the ice rink, Lana and Bee sat down to pull on their skates while the others went and rented some skates. Once they were all ready, they went onto the ice and skated around with Kim, Bee, and Lana helping them skate smoothly. “Hey Lana, mind recreating the last routine you did after I...?” he asked and Lana gave Xan a soft look as she nodded agreement.

“Of course. I did dedicate to you,” Lana said, pulling her phone out and pulling up the song. A song Xan was fairly fond of before he was killed and taken. “Play this when I get into position.” Xan nodded and she skated to the center of the rink. She was lucky there weren’t many people out then, and when they saw her they moved to the sides. He pressed play when she got into position, a soft smile grew on his lips when he realized it was ‘My Heart Will Go On’. She glided across the ice, unaware of the camera Mari had trained on her and the crowd.

Xan felt tears stinging his eyes as he watched the dance. Lila squeezed his hand, holding tightly as she wiped away a tear herself, watching as Lana danced with a grief and remembrance of someone she loved. It wasn’t a song dancers typically chose since it had words but she did as a tribute to him. She ended a bit to the side from her start point, her head tilted up looking to the side with her eyes closed, her mouth agape as a hand clutched her shirt above her heart and her other slightly behind her. Her torso turned slightly the way her head was facing, her right leg turned to face in front of her while slightly lifted as if to push her off while her left faced the same way her head was facing, toward Xan.

Xan was the first to class before everyone in the rink started clapping as well. A blush dusted her cheeks as she pushed off to go back to them. Mari was beaming as she slid her phone back into her pocket after sending the video to Philippe. “It was a bit clumsy,” she muttered embarrassed and flustered,  _ You don’t deserve the praise. You’re a fake _ , a voice that sounded like Steve’s voice whispered into her ear. She hugged herself when she reached them, folding into herself. Bee was at her side immediately, whispering into her ear things that none of them could hear. She nodded occasionally, taking a few deep breaths.

“That was awesome! Mind teaching me some of those moves?” Kim asked, somehow knowing that a distraction is needed for her mind. Lila started nodding as well right as Nino and Chloe arrived on the ice.

“Teach what?” Chloe asked and Kim launched into an explanation of the routine Lana did. Chloe immediately beamed at Lana and nodded eagerly as well. Lana pulled them to the center of the rink to start teaching them, with some of the other people there as well joining in. Xan shared a smile with Mari and Damian at seeing her relax after whatever went throu her head skating back to them after the dance.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Duke had a small sideways smile on his lips as he shook his head. “You guys are ridiculous,” he said looking between Jason and Tim while Dick was face planted on the couch exhausted after doing a nightshift at the precinct.

“I resent that. That’s not true,” Jason said with his arms crossed and Duke just gave him a look while Tim snorted. “What!?”

“Nevermind that. Is it true?”

“Oh ya! It’s very true! Damian is dating Marinette! Finally! And, Dick is also dating Alya finally, along with this british FBI agent. They got close it seems while Dick was dating Babs. And don’t ask me about Kon ‘cause I can honestly say I don’t know who he’s seeing. He hasn’t told me and the person is just listed as ‘My Heart’ on his phone with hearts around it. Very cute if I’m being honest,” Tim said with a smile.

“You didn’t hack his phone to see?”

“Hey-!”

“You would! Don’t deny it!” Jason shouted while Dick mumbled his agreement along with a ‘shut up’.

“I’m respecting his privacy. I can do that,” Tim said and the two brothers shared a look before giving Tim a look.

“Couldn’t crack it?” Duke asked and Tim pouted as he looked away.

“He so didn’t. Bab’s probably encrypted Kon’s phone,” Jason replied and Duke nodded.

“So, when do I get to see ‘em?”

“See who?” Dick asked looking up, half asleep.

“You’re boyfriend and girlfriend, Dick. I already know Marinette.”

“Oh, uh…” he trailed off in thought and a yawn left him. “I’ll see,” he mumbled before going back to his nap so that he was ready for patrol that night. The three laughed at that and then Tim turned to Jason with a teasing smile.

“Duke, I don’t think you’ve heard about Jason’s crush,” Tim said in a teasing tone and Jason glared at him. Jason rushed over at Tim who evaded him while Duke looked interested.

“Oh?” he asked, curious since he hadn’t seen Jason crush on anyone in a while.

“Ya! You’ve met or seen Alya before, Dick’s partner at the precinct, she’s come here quite a bit,” Tim started and Duke nodded, he’s certainly seen her in passing, having maybe one or two conversations that lasted minutes because they each had something to do. “Well, she has a younger sister named Lana-” Tim yelped as he ducked under Jason’s arm as it swung at him. But he didn’t need to say any more as Duke was nodding with a smile.

“Ah. I see,” he then grabbed Jason’s wrist as he almost caught Tim’s shirt. Tim scampered behind Duke with a smile and patted his shoulder.

“Yup! Now I have to go! Gotta make sure the board didn’t try screwing over that hotel again!” Tim then ran out of the room and to his car while Jason glared at Duke.

“Not a word.”   
“Oh, I think the others won’t stop even when you ask her out,” Duke replied with a smirk before heading up to his room to unpack. Jason just groaned and fell onto the couch, Dick somehow being quick enough to keep his legs from being sat on. Once Jason was sitting on the couch defeated, Dick dropped his legs over Jason’s lap. Jason just groaned at that and tried melting into the couch, hoping his embarrassment would leave before someone else came.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Melody was humming under her breath as she typed on her computer. A request to the sister hotel to see if they could borrow an employee. Looking up when she heard the door, she was surprised to see that it was the CEO Tim Drake-Wayne. “What can I do for you, Mr. Drake-Wayne?” she tilted her head as she asked the question.

“Just came by to make sure the board didn’t try pulling one over me,” he explained with a smile and Melody returned it with a soft laugh.

“Don’t worry. They haven’t. I think you scared them when you told them of what they did wrong,” she replied and Tim nodded with a smile and the phone started ringing and she raised a finger and answered it. As she dealt with the patreon, he looked around the lobby taking note of how it was simple, but nice. Plants were on both sides of the door, along with a couple in the corner by the front desk. A few landscape paintings covered the wall, along with a Gotham skyline showing the vigilantes-his photograph. He took it a while ago and he could tell what each silhouette was- Batman in front, Robin slightly behind with Nightwing and Red Hood behind them, caught up in a race, Spoiler and Signal high fiving as they jumped a gap after the two with Orphan bringing up the rear.

“You know, that’s one of my favorite photos,” Melody said coming up from behind to stand next to Tim. Tim startled at that but smiled softly as he looked over at her then back to the photo.

“Really?”

“Ya, it’d be even better if it had Red Robin in it too,” she replied smiling at him as she gave the photo one last look before going back to the front desk. “If I could, I’d have this photo, including Red Robin in it, in my house.”

“You like Red Robin?”

“Ya, why wouldn’t I?” she tilted her head a bit confused at his question as she started an email to their maintenance man. “Red Robin is awesome, he saved my life some years ago when I first arrived in Gotham. So I was grateful at first but now I look up to him,” she explained with a shrug, curious about his slightly shocked expression. “Ok, I can understand not knowing why since you are a CEO and plenty busy, but believe or not, a lot of people do like Red Robin.”   
“Ya, just been pretty busy. Only really seen Batman and Robin memorabilia thou. Nightwing and Red Hood I have seen occasionally but not much,” he admitted with a shrug and Melody nodded with a laugh.

“That is true. But I think it’s more on the concept of Batman and Robin being the dynamic duo who’s been around the longest. I mean, they still sell stuff that looks like the original Robin paired with Nightwing since it’s easy to guess that they’re the same since there was no Robin for a few months after Nightwing appeared,” she replied and Tim had to nod, people even suspect Robin #2 and Red Hood being the same which would be fair.

“Ya,” he whispered with a small smile, knowing that people did appreciate his work as Red Robin even if it wasn’t obvious.

“Since you’re looking around, you could get some coffee or something from the machine,” Melody said looking up as she sent the email before pointing to the machine that sat on a counter running along the wall next to the desk.

“Thanks,” he walked over and made himself some hot chocolate. Going back to the desk, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a card and held it to Melody. “Here, in case the board tries anything again.” He then started toward the door and waved to an employee that was walking back to the front desk.

_ Mari-aculous @MDC_Designs _

_ Having fun at the ice rink with everyone! Apparently Lana is popular right now #awesome #iceskating #icedancing #figureskating #learning *Mari beaming at the camera before turning it to show Lana helping bother her friends and some strangers doing some figure skating moves* _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap! I hope you guys enjoy this fun little thing showing the characters doin random n havin fun. AND DUKE APPEARS!! Sorry if Duke is a bit OOC, I tried. He seems like a cool character, I literally read a couple wiki type things bout him so this is my best guess of how to do him. And, next chap Duke will meet Alya and Xavier and see the others again! Until next time!! -Love Willa<3<3<3


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here’s the new chap finally! So the reason it was delayed was cause I was writing a new fic but I lost inspo for it….yaa….it WASN'T the same mermaid au. It was something different. It was a cool idea tbh but I just didn’t feel it anymore. Then I was also drawin a fun little Among Us comic based on my friends betrayal, we were group buddies n she killed me. But then my laptop didn’t like that. I’m just not having a good time, huh? And also, college homework, keep gettin like BIG things for assignments. Just one more thing before you can get to the chap. Ok, so I just got offered a job n I’ll be starting it in a couple or so weeks so I’ll have less time to write. Ok, I hope you enjoy the new chap!

“How’s it going, Alya?” Mari asked as she set down a container of cookies. A few coworkers cheered as they snatched a cookie before going back to their desks to work. Alya shook her head with a laugh as Sarah slinked by, trying to be stealthy. Sarah just beamed at hearing the two laugh before going back to her desk.

“Oh, the usual. Busy, with he-who-shall-not-be-named trying to butt into Dick and I’s case,” she said, glaring over toward Lingo’s office, her lips curling a bit.

“What’s so bad about that?” Mari asked, confused with a tilt of her head.

“You know, Cahaya?” she asked and Mari nodded, she’s met the fairly quiet but upbeat girl quite a few times. “This case is hers. We’re trying to take someone down, but we can’t trust anyone besides Gordon with it’s info. It deals with some shady and corrupt people,” she murmured and Mari scowled at that and nodded.

“And  _ he _ may be one of those,” she muttered back just as quietly and Alya nodded.

“Exactly. We’ve argued with him and even Gordon has spoken with him. It’s been hectic. We’ve managed to convince him that its a cold case. He doesn’t like looking at cold cases so that means we have to be sneaky about working on it. But how about you, Mari? Damian treating you right?” Alya asked sending Mari a soft look as Mari giggled at that with a nod.

“Everything’s going well. We got to tour LexCorp. and Daily Planet on Monday and Tuesday which was really cool!” Mari was beaming as she said that. “And don’t worry. Dami is being the perfect gentleman!”

“Alright, just had to make sure,” Alya said with a laugh at how offended Mari looked at the thought that she thought Damian wasn’t behaving. Dick came over then, a tired sigh leaving him but he smiled at seeing the two laughing. He pressed a kiss to Alya’s cheek before ruffling Mari’s hair, pulling it from the care of it’s headband.

“What are you two laughing about?” he asked as he sat down at his desk.

“Mari’s face when I wanted to make sure Damian was treating her right,” Alya replied and Dick started chuckling himself with a soft shake of his head.

“Ya, her face must’ve been pretty funny,” he agreed and Mari shook her head before facing Dick fully, letting Alya sit beside Dick as her desk and pick up a report.

“I heard your sigh,” Mari started, but didn’t finish it. Dick let out a breath and shook his head, knowing what she was asking.

“Simply? Lingo,” he replied and Mari nodded at that.

“Ah, well, I need to get going, I promised Tim I’d be back at WE before his next meeting,” Mari said, giving the two a hug before racing out of the precinct, waving to some of the workers as she left.

“Ready for Friday?” Dick asked, giving Alya’s shoulder a squeeze when she turned to him.

“Ya, excited to finally have a conversation with Duke that lasts longer than a minute,” she said with a laugh that Dick shared.

“True that. Heard from Xavier?”

Alya hummed a bit as she pulled her phone out to look at the last message there. “Besides his confirmation about Friday? No. I think he got sucked up into a case at the bureau,” Dick nodded with a small smile.

“Like someone else we know?” Dick asked and Alya snorted.

“More like someone _ s _ ,” she countered before turning back to her computer.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Mari hummed under her breath as she sketched on the couch in the den. Damian was next to her reading from his book. “Hi Duke!” Mari greeted as she watched him enter the den. Duke smiled at the two as he made his way closer and sat down in an armchair.

“Hey, Mari. You staying for dinner?”

“Ya! Dami invited me! Can’t wait to really talk with Xavier. I haven’t gotten to speak or meet him really,” Mari said and Duke nodded agreement with a smile.

“Ya. I haven’t really gotten to really talk to Alya for more than a minute at a time really. But, we’ll get to do that tonight!”

“Yeah! Do you know when Alya and Xavier will arrive?”

“Dick should be picking them up right now,” Duke replied with a smile. 

“Mistress Marinette, your treats have finished cooling,” Alfred called walking into the room and nodded to her. Mari smiled softly as she nodded back and set aside her sketchbook. Damian gave her hand a squeeze before she left the room.

“What did she make?”

“A special treat for the three of you. I have a feeling you’ll enjoy it,” Damian responded and Duke nodded. Jason walked into the room then as Jon floated in and went directly over to Damian. “Where’s Kon and Tim?”

“Kon is at WE to drag Tim here as soon as the meeting is over. Bruce and Clark are on their way I think,” Jason replied and the group nodded understanding.

“Master Dick will be arriving after master Bruce,” Alfred called after a bit and when he finished the door opened and the couple entered the room with a smile.

“Wizard,” Jason whispered to Duke who nodded agreement.

“Where’s Tim and Kon?” Bruce asked looking between the group noting who’s absent while also guessing who would be with Alfred that wasn’t there. Only a select few were allowed into the kitchen.

“Kon is going to be dragging Tim back here when he's done with a meeting,” Jason repeated and Bruce’s brow furrowed.

“There were no meetings scheduled thou?” Bruce asked himself, confused. “Did I miss a meeting?” Bruce looked over at Clark who smiled softly but shrugged.

“I’m not sure. But you can ask Tim when he gets back home,” Clark said and Bruce nodded. The couple then left to get changed into something comfier. As the two came downstairs after some time to relax alone, Dick arrived outside the manor.

“Master Dick is outside, Master Bruce,” Alfred warned as Mari left the kitchen and entered the den. They heard the door open then and both Duke and Jason shared a look while the others looked at each other confused.

“I’m happy to say that you’ll finally get to meet Duke officially. Cass and Steph are regretfully still away, but you’ll get to meet them soon,” Dick’s voice filtered throu the entryway to them. Everyone shared a look as they got up to greet Dick, Alya, and Xavier.

“I can’t wait,” Alya said as they entered the den. Alya was smiling as she looked around the room before landing on Duke. “Nice to finally meet you, Duke,” she greeted and Duke smiled as he took her pro-offered hand and shook it.

“I can say the same. And it’s nice to finally meet you, Xavier. Dick talks highly of you,” Duke greeted shaking Xavier’s hand next.   
“Nice to finally meet you, mate,” Xavier greeted with a smile as he shook hands with Duke. Duke returned the smile.

“Let’s head into the dining room. Dinner is getting cold, and we don’t know for sure when Tim’s meeting will be over,” Bruce said with a smile and the group nodded agreement.

“Sounds good,” Jason said, getting up and making his way there with the others following behind slowly.

“Indeed, Master Bruce. Master Tim and Master Kon shall be a bit,” Alfred called from the kitchen as he started bringing items to the table. Jason and Clark started helping Alfred and soon the table was set. They sat down and started serving themselves when the front door opening echoed to them. “There they are,” Alfred said pleasantly and Alya sent Dick a look to which he just smiled and shrugged.

“Wizard,” Jason whispered in a conspiracy tone to her and she snorted softly but nodded agreement. Tim entered the dining room with a groan while Kon shook his head in response to whatever Tim had said.

“Tim, what meeting was there that you were apart of? I didn’t see any listed,” Bruce asked with a tilt of his head as Tim sat down.

“It wasn’t a CEO meeting. It was a meeting with the hotel board. Apparently, they keep almost screwing over the hotels that aren’t doing the best right now,” Tim replied and Bruce nodded at that.

“While that is good that you’re trying to keep them from doing that, you can’t keep it up, why not-”

“I can’t just hire anyone, Bruce. They would let the board do what they want,” Tim interrupted and Bruce nodded slowly at that.

“How did you first learn of this problem?”

“A Staff Operations Manager at the local branch visited and brought it up to my attention. The board tried getting her branch to donate stuff they didn’t have. And have sense tried doing it again.”

“What if you hired the Staff Operations Manager to be the liaison between the board and hotels? It pays to have an inside source to keep things running well,” Bruce offered and Tim hummed at that.

“Wait, are you talking about the hotel my class is staying at?” Mari asked curiously and Tim nodded. “I’ve talked to Melody! She would be a great choice to be on the board and knock ‘em straight!”

“Oh! You’re at the hotel Melody works at?” Xavier asked and Mari nodded. “I can say that she would love to tell the board a piece of her mind for what all they’ve done. She’s also friends with the other managers of the sister hotels. So she would definitely be able to help all the hotels not be screwed over,” Xavier added and Tim nodded with a hum.

“I’ll think about it. Have her send her current resume over however,” Tim replied and Xavier nodded understanding.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

“That was really nice, Dick,” Alya whispered, leaning her head against Dick’s shoulder as he drove them back to their apartment.

“I’m glad,” Dick replied just as softly, glancing in the mirror toward Xavier. Xavier smiled easily back at them.

“That was very enjoyable. I do look forward to seeing your family again,” Xavier replied and Dick chuckled softly.

“Well, sorry if that won’t happen for a bit. I just want to spend some one on one time with you two,” he whispered and the two smiled back. Alya had a faint blush as she nudged her head against him.

“You sap,” she mumbled, squeezing his arm.

“You fell for this sap.”

“Yeah, I did,” she mumbled with a soft chuckle and hum. They stopped in front of the apartment building Xavier’s family shares first. “Goodnight, Xavier,” Alya said, turning in her seat to face him.

“Goodnight, Alya, Dick,” he whispered leaning forward and pressing a kiss to Alya’s lips. When Dick turned his head, Xavier pressed a kiss to his lips as well. “Stay safe,” he whispered, pulling back to slip out of the car.

“We’ll text you once we’re home safely,” Alya assured and Xavier squeezed her hand before slipping out of the car fully. He waved as he entered the apartment building. Seeing him disappear up the stairs, Dick pulled away from the apartment building and headed toward Alya’s place.

“Xander is staying with you right now?” Dick asked and Alya nodded with a smile.

“Ya, he’s staying with me until the semester starts for him. Then, he’ll stay with Lana. But he’s hoping that he’ll get a job soon and save enough for his own apartment in the building,” she answered softly and Dick hummed with a nod.

“If he ever needs help finding a job, don’t hesitate to either ask Gordon or Bruce. Either one of them will help,” Dick replied and Alya chuckled as she nodded.

“That’s true. Unfortunately, I may have to ask them,” she said sadly and Dick squeezed her hand.

“Why?”

“Well, not many people are trusting of Xan since they know of his death. I get it, but it’s not fair for him. Even the University was wary of letting him in,” she explained and Dick frowned as he squeezed her hand.

“Things will get better for him. I know it,” Dick whispered and Alya nodded. They stopped in front of her building and she pulled back a bit. She gave him a soft smile before pressing a gentle kiss to his lips.

“Thanks,” squeezing his hand one last time, she slid out of the car. “I’ll see you at work,” she whispered and he nodded back before she entered the building and got onto the elevator. Dick soon reached home and saw Alya’s text in their little group chat and sent one of his own. Saying goodnight one last time, Dick went off to the cave to prepare for patrol.

_ Alster @Bi_Arrow _

_ Had a great time having dinner with Xavier, Dick and his family. Can’t wait to do it again #familydinner #sortameetthefamily #date _

_ Dick @Flying_Grayson _

_ I’m glad! They had fun too! _ ****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the new chap! I hope you guys enjoyed it! Again, just giving the warning, I will be starting a new job soon n with my classes, my writing time will be cut down. But I won’t stop writing for you guys. Ok, until next time! -Love Willa<3<3<3


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap!! Just a reminder, next Wed, I have job training so after that, IDK how much time I’ll actually have to write. So ya, updates will be slower n randomer. Ok, enjoy!!

“These look great, thank you, Mari,” Lana said smiling as she looked at the suits Mari helped them make. Mari beamed at the two with a nod.  
“Well, I can’t let you two go out in something atrocious like the bat family's choices if I can help it. Tikki also blessed it so that it’s not easy to get throu,” Mari added with a giggle. “Go, try them on!'' The two left the living room of Lana’s apartment and changed into the gear they would be wearing as Gotham’s newest vigilantes. Lana exited her bedroom quickly and moved to stand in front of Mari to let her see how it fit. “Perfect fit,” she hummed out with a smile, glad she got the measurements right.

Lana smiled as she looked down at her suit. It consisted of a dark gray, near close to black, under armour that was sleeveless. It went up her neck mandarin style with a gold lining making a couple of ‘openings’ to show her neck. Over it was a purple, sleeveless kimono/robe-esque covering that slowly transitioned to darker and transparent purple at the end at past mid-calf. It had a hood attached and had a gold lining around the front of it that ended mid chest. On her shoulders and down was black that ended, split up in points at the end of the gold. Her shoulders were bare with the gold lining making half-circles starting at mid-upper arm and ended above her elbows. Under the gold was purple sleeves that went to her hands, held in place by a loop around her middle fingers.

Around her waist was a magenta-y colored sash that was knotted with gold wings on either side keeping it in place. On the sash were two purple and red metal fans along with a pouch in the same color. On her back were two silver escrima sticks. On both thighs, were red straps holding two deep red pouches that contained zip-ties and other things that would help her in battle. Black, heeled boots covered her feet. The heels were purple that could be taken out to show a compartment to hold sds, flash drives, and the like. They were knee high with a similar pattern to her color with gold trim. To finish it off, a red domino mask covered her eyes and her hair was pulled into a bun with a ribbon that matched the sash.**(https://ranger-gothamite.tumblr.com/post/633179034460782592/vigilante-looks)**

“Excellently made, as always, Angel,” Damian said, causing Mari to blush. Lana chuckled softly as she shook her head at the two in front of her.

Xan came out next and Mari nodded once more with a smile. His suit consisted of a deep gray, loose shirt that was styled like a karate gi. It’s lapel was deep blue with the collar mandarin style. The sleeves were short and big letting him move his arms more. Over it was a black cloak that stopped at his hips with a pin that had a stylized M, and a hood. Under the cloak but over the shirt was a red belt/strap that went from his shoulder to side holding pellets of knockout gas and smoke. Around his waist was a pale gold/yellow sash that held a couple of pouches holding zipties and throwing star-like items.

His shirt continued down on one side to mid-thigh, laying on top of another wrap-like item that was a deeper blue than the lining with gold lines running in arcs all over. On his right thigh was a blue pouch holding tools. Knee high combat boots covered his feet and tucked in the deep gray pants. Black gloves covered his hands, held in place by pale gold/yellow strings. Resting on his back was a red handled katana that was blunted and acted more like a staff. Covering his eyes was a red domino mask.

“Lookin good, Xan,” Lana said and Xan nodded back to her with a smile.

“That looks similar to-” Damian started but then cut off, but everyone knew what he was talking about. It was similar to the training outfits worn at the League of Shadows.

“They were a….big part of why I’m ready to fight crime. While I don’t like it, I’m more suited to fighting in this style of clothing,” he said and Damian nodded to that.

“Then make it your own.”

Xan smiled at those words and nodded. Mari beamed at the two of them and glanced outside. “Well, the sun is setting so you should be able to run around the rooftops and get used to them,” Mari suggested and the two nodded.

“What are you going to call yourselves?” Damian asked and the two shared a look.

“I’ll go by Huntress,” Lana said after a moment and the two nodded.

“Fitting.”

“I’m not sure,” Xan replied with a hum, thinking about what would fit. Lana had a smile as a gleam entered her eye.

“We’ll call you Kit until you figure out a name,” she said with a cackle, easily dodging Xan as the two started laughing as well.

“It’s something for the time being,” Mari replied between laughs and Xan looked at her betrayed.

“Come on, Kit! We’ve got to patrol!” she called out running to the balcony and jumping off it. He scowled but followed after her with a shake of his head.

“I’m not being called that!”

“Then pick a name before someone talks to us!”

Mari giggled as she transformed and followed after them herself. “You coming?” she asked and Damian soon nodded after a bit. After Mari left, he quickly changed into his Robin gear and ran after the three.

“There are some places you’ll want to avoid as they are frequented by Rogues. Not all Rogues need to be avoided, but, well,” Robin trailed off and the two nodded.

“It would be good to know anyways. Wouldn’t want to accidentally run into Two-Face or something,” Huntress said and Ladybug nodded.

“I can agree. It was not fun running into a Rogue when first starting out,” Ladybug said with a grimace.

“At least we don’t have to worry about Joker,” Kit muttered and the three nodded agreement. Screaming sounded out causing the four to stop running before turning to the sound. Hiding behind a ledge, they watched as a man entered the bank. The man was wearing a sleeveless black under armour, with a multi-colored knitted scarf, fingerless gloves, and sash. The sash had a few balls of yarn along with a couple knitting needles sticking out. On his back stuck out quite a few more knitting needles. On his feet were purple, knee-high combat boots and covering his face was a black domino mask. Strings went from his gloves to two monsters in front of him, they were knitted too. They had eerie white yarn over their mouths as if in a vain attempt to close it, but that didn’t stop the two from either smiling or frowning. Along their ‘hands’ and ‘feet’ three knitting needles stuck out along with some sticking out of their backs.

“Who is that?” Huntress muttered.

“I’m not sure. Do you want us to take care of it?” Robin asked and Huntress shook her head.

“No, we got this,” she replied standing up with Kit right behind her. “See you in a few,” giving a salute, she pulled out a grappling gun and pushed off the ledge. She shot the grapple back and swung down to the street and landed with a roll. Her right arm behind her, slipping the grappling gun back into place before grabbing an escrima from her back. Her left arm pulled a fan from her sash and flicked it open. Kit landed soon after she did and flicked his blunted katana out of its holder on his back. “New to town? Stealing from a bank isn’t the best way to make friends,” Huntress called out and the man turned startled.

“Who are you?” the man asked as his knitted creations turned to them.

“We’re the newest vigilantes to Gotham. Figured the big Bat could use some help so that he could focus on the big bads. Call me Huntress. But the better question is, who are you? And why did you think you’d succeed in _ Gotham _ of all places?” Huntress asked with a shake of her head as Kit snorted next to her.

“And him?” the man asked. Kit grumbled next to her, causing Huntress to cover her snort with a cough.

“Haven’t thought of a proper name….” he started.

“Call him Kit for the time being,” Huntress finished and the man stuck his chin up with a smirk.

“Well, you may have heard of me, they call me The Knitter!” he shouted and the two shared a look before shaking their heads.

“Never heard of ya before,” Huntress said while Kit tilted his head.

“Is ‘the’ _ part _ of your name? Or…?”

“I-” the man stopped with a confused look. “You haven’t heard of me? And _ yes _ it is!”

“Well, The Knitter, we have not heard of ya before. I doubt any Gothamite has,” Huntress said, twirling her escrima in hand.

“Prepare to be taken down,” Kit continued and The Knitter growled before throwing a hand out at them.

“Then prepare for your doom! My darling creations will knit you into an early grave!” the man shouted as the creatures then ran forward, with a swipe, knitting needles flew at them. Huntress ran forward and knocked aside the needles with her fan and gave a soft grunt as she then hit one of the creatures with her escima. Kit ran after the other one and slashed at it. The creature hit each stroke with a paw, the needles clanging against his sword each time. He jumped back with narrowed eyes before pulling out a small, black throwing knife. The handle was wrapped with a deep blue cord until the end were a hoop was, big enough for his finger to slip throu and twirl.

He threw the knife at the strings as The Knitter yelled out. As soon as the strings were cut, the creature fell to the ground lifelessly. Huntress smirked as she rushed forward and swung her fan, cutting throu the strings as well.

The Knitter yelled out when he saw his creatures fall lifelessly to the ground. He then pulled out a couple of knitting needles and ran at the two. Huntress ran forward and knocked aside the needles easily with her fans. She swung her leg in a sweeping motion, knocking him onto his back. Kit ran over pulling out zip ties and held them ready as Huntress pushed the man onto his stomach and let Kit zip tie him. “The GPD will be here soon and you will be booked,” Huntress said as she pulled The Knitter into a sitting position as the two stood to either side of the man.

The Knitter grumbled angrily next to them as they waited for the GPD. People all around them looked at them shocked, taking photos of them.

Alya soon arrived at the scene with Dick and some other officers. They paused shocked while Alya just moved forward and nodded, sending them a smile. “Thank you…?” she asked, since while she knew who they were UNDER the mask, she didn’t know the names they chose.

“Huntress,” she said and Alya nodded, looking over at Kit.

“For the time being, I’m going by Kit,” he said and Alya stifled a snort at seeing his face.

“Thank you, Huntress and Kit,” she managed with a straight face. She then took the man from them and marched him over to the cruiser.

“Come on, Kit!” Huntress called jumping up and off buildings back to the rooftops.

“You guys did well,” Robin admitted and the two shared a smile as Ladybug held a fist out for them to hit.

“Thanks. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of The Knitter,” Huntress said as they ran across the roofs.

“That may be true. But I have no doubt that you two will have it handled easily,” Ladybug replied with Robin nodding agreement.

“Now, let’s go see what places we should avoid!” Kit replied and the two nodded, continuing to lead them off.

_ Owl Blocked Again @owlforlife _

_ LOOK AT THIS!!! NEW VIGILANTES!! And a new Rogue???? #weird #butawesome #newvigilantes #newbatfam??? *Huntress and Kit fighting the knitted creatures then another picture of them holding the man down waiting for police* _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the new chap! I hope you guys enjoyed it!! If the link to their outfit doesn’t work plz tell me. But also, here’s this chaps link to Tumblr that has the outfits already: https://ranger-gothamite.tumblr.com/post/633178750030348288/a-new-hero-chap-25. Again, I hope you enjoy it, new chaps will be randomly updated due to many things. Until Next time!! -Love Willa<3<3<3


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so here’s the next chap! But before I let you get back to your….not really daily update, these next few weeks will be a bit crazy as I both work and do homework. Just wanted to give the warning once more as my final school day isn’t until Dec 13th. So ya, things will be interesting for this time as idk my work sched, lol. Wish me luck.(PS sorry bout the LONG wait)

Tim was mumbling under his breath when Mari entered his office with a hum and placed down some folders. “Melody is here for that appointment you scheduled with her. I’m assuming it’s to say she’s hired?” she asked and Tim smiled.

“Yup. She’s just what we need to make sure the board doesn’t try anything to mess up anything for the hotels. Send her in,” he said and she laughed with a nod. As he opened the folders and gazed throu them, Mari left the office. The door soon opened once more and he glanced up to see Melody walking into the office, looking like she came straight from work or was heading to work more like it at the time since it was morning.

“Good morning, Mr. Drake-Wayne,” Melody said with a smile as she reached the desk and shook his hand before sitting down.

“Good morning, Mrs. Reeves. I’m glad you were able to come,” Tim said with a smile as she nodded agreement.

“It was indeed lucky. But so, what is it you wanted to see me for? Or why did you ask Xavier to ask me to send in my resume?” she asked with a faint tilt of the head. Tim’s smile grew at that, excited to share the good news.

“Well, you’re brother has probably told you, I’ve been going to the board meetings that deal with the hotels under our care,” he started and she slowly nodded at that, “but I don’t have enough time in the day to do that along with all the other things I need to do as Co-CEO. So, with quite a few stunning recommendations, I asked for your resume. I’m quite pleased to say, I would like to hire you to be a liaison for the directors at the board and the various hotels. You would be given a pay raise. There’s only a meeting once a week that you would attend that goes over the various stats of the hotels, with only one major meeting a month that goes over budgeting and the like. It would be beneficial to have you visit or talk to people in the hotels to get an overview of what's happening to better help them from being torn under by bad decisions,” he finished and could only watch as Melody’s face turned to shock.

“Y-you want me to be a liaison? For the company? What about my current job?”

“Well, your current job, you can keep or leave it. That is up to you,” Tim replied easily, “I imagine that your dance company would be happy to hear that you have more time from this new position.”

Melody started nodding happily at that and smiled. “I’ll take it! I’ll need to put in my two week notice to the hotel and help train the new trainee but after that I’ll be ready to begin,” she replied, standing up to shake Tim’s hand gratefully.

“Good. I’ll email you the schedule for the meetings. If there’s ever a change in time or date, they will email you the updated meeting date,” Tim said standing as well as they shook hands. “Have a good day, Melody. I look forward to having you work here.”

“I look forward to working here too,” she said turning toward the door. “Have a good day, Mr. Drake-Wayne,” with that, she was out of the door and heading to her old job.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

“I’m proud of you Melody, I knew you would get the job as soon as Tim asked for your resume,” Xavier’s voice carried as he walked into the police station and the two shared a look. Xavier smiled at them as he nodded along to whatever Melody was saying on the other side of the call. “You can continue freaking out later, Mel. You have work remember?” he shook his head with a laugh as he pocketed his phone.

“I take it she’s excited about the job offer?” Alya asked, stifling her own laugh as Xavier nodded and sat down on a chair next to her desk.

“Indeed. She can’t stop talking about it. If I didn’t say it, I’d swear she would have forgotten to go to work,” he replied and Dick chuckled softly at that.

“Heh, I hope your prepared to have to deal with teens. Mari’s class is visiting the precinct for whatever reason,” Dick warned and Xavier looked solemn at that.

“I have such great timing, huh?” he asked and the two laughed and he sent them a look. “I could just leave you guys to deal with them alone you know.”

“Yes, but then you risk getting in trouble with Agent Fornell since you are supposed to be working on a case with some officers here,” Alya countered and Xavier nodded.

“Ah, yes. But I need my partner here to do that and I have no clue where he went,” he responded, only to look around confused at a cough and saw one of their co-workers jerking their head and pointing. A sigh left Xavier as he shook his head, Dick and Alya both turned to look and snorted at seeing the man in question flirting with Sarah. They couldn’t tell how it was going.

“Seems Tony has taken a shining toward Sarah,” Dick said and Xavier nodded.

“Apparently, let’s see, will his flirting actually get him anywhere or will she roadblock him?”

“ _ Or _ will she not even notice he’s flirting?” Alya added and the two looked confused at her.

“What? You’ve seen her being oblivious before Dick. Remember? The Christmas Party a couple years ago? Chad?” she supplied and Dick’s confused face turned to understanding as he nodded.

“That was pretty funny actually,” he admitted and Alya nodded agreement.

“It was.”

“What happened at the Christmas Party?” the two shared a look at the question and tried getting their laughs under control.

“Oh, a fellow officer named Chad started flirting with Sarah at the party, offering different things they could do together. Only, Sarah thought he was just being friendly when he flirted and didn’t realize he meant alone and kept asking their friends if they’d wanna do the thing too. Even if it was something that couples usually did, such as going to the movies to see a romantic movie,” Dick said between laughs and Xavier started chuckling softly as well.

“I better go get him. I don’t think Officer’s Willa and Cory will appreciate being delayed longer than necessary,” Xavier said after a bit and the two nodded.

“See you after work,” Alya whispered, squeezing his hand as he stood up.

“See you then,” he whispered, giving both of their hands a squeeze.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

“That was so cool!” Lila squealed out to Mari on the bus. Mari laughed softly at her friend's excitement while the others voiced their agreement.

“Why? It was just Dick and the others,” Mari said and gave a few of her friends a pointed look, “some of whom have already met,” she finished the ones it was directed at shrugged.

“Still! It was so fun to see them. And oh my god! They were so cute together!” Lila said and Mari nodded at that.

“Ya, they were. I still just feel bad for Babs thou,” Mari said and Kim reached over the seat to pat her shoulder.

“Yeah, but hey! Babs is ok, it hurts but she’s still close friends with them!” he said and Mari nodded slowly at that.

“She is, and she did say she was happy to see them together,” Mari mumbled.

“You know, from how Alya and Dick acted before, I would have thought they were dating,” Nino spoke up and Chloe nodded agreement.

“Same. They were really close, it was easy to think they were dating,” Chloe added.

“True. But Alya met Dick a year or so before Dick started dating Babs…..again….I can’t keep straight their on again off again relationship,” Mari said, turning toward Max and Markov with a look that had everyone laughing.

“How many times have any of you guys done that?” Adrien asked between laughs and Mari shrugged.

“Who knows,” she answered after shrugging.

**~~~~~~~~~~~~(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧~~~~~~~~~~~~**

**A Week Later**

“Uh, Tim?” Mari asked, poking her head into Tim’s office. Tim turned to her with a confused look.

“What is it, Mari?”

“You forgot to have Melody sign these forms when she accepted the job offer,” Mari said and Tim swore something under his breath that she couldn’t understand.

“Alright, I’ll go to her and get her to sign them. I know she’s off today but I don’t know where she would be,” Tim said standing up and grabbing phone and a folder and pen. He strode over to Mari and took the papers she held and slid them into the folder.

“Oh, I know that! On her off days she’s with her ballet company! They practice in the studio next to the opera house,” Mari answered and Tim nodded with a smile.

“Thanks Mari. Order yourself your favorite meal or drink on me. Thanks!” Tim shouted as he ran to the elevator and slipped into it before the doors closed. He nodded to the employees already inside the elevator.

“What floor, sir?”

“Lobby,” he answered, giving them a nod and smile. They returned the nod and the ride down was silent. Reaching the lobby, Tim left at a hurried pace and made it to his car in record time, and was soon pulling out from the parking and heading toward Melody’s practice. Tim looked at the building in front of him with a wary look. But he soon saw the sign and he nodded to himself as he then turned the car off and picked up the folder and made his way inside.

Reaching the studio door, he waited until everyone stopped dancing before pushing it open. Everyone looked over at him confused, especially when Melody started making her way over to him. It was a shock to see her out of the more professional uniform of the hotel, instead wearing black leggings with a pink section going to her knees, a sports bra, and ballet shoes. “Hello sir, what can I do for you?” a man asked walking up to him with Melody a step behind.

“I’m sorry to interrupt your practice sir. But I came to talk to Melody for a bit,” Tim said and the man opened his mouth but Melody raised a hand.

“What’s up?” she asked and Tim handed her a folder that she opened up.

“We-I, I really, forgot to get you to sign these forms when you accepted the job offer, don’t worry they aren’t anything  _ huge _ . Just some NDA’s for anything heard in the meetings, agreement forms, safety forms, the like,” he said and she nodded slowly as she skimmed the pages to understand what each one was.   
“Could this not have waited?” the man asked slightly annoyed, watching as Melody leaned against a wall going over everything in the folder. The other dancers were looking at them still however and Tim gave a small wave.

“Well, it was just easier to come here and ask about the signatures since I had some free time. I apologize for interrupting, but there just wouldn’t have been a good time for me to otherwise meet with her to get these signed. I’d rather be present for it. Also, Cass Wayne dances with this company, correct?” he asked and the man's eyes widened in shock.

“Wait, you’re-?” the man started but stopped and Tim nodded.

“Yup. I want to apologize for her long absence. We didn’t know this family business would take her so long. When did you say the performance was, Mr. G?”

“Ah, it’s no problem, that’s why we have understudies. The performance will be on July 16th, about 3 weeks from now,” he replied and Tim nodded with a hum.

“Have you sent videos of the dances to Cass?”

“Ah, I can’t say if they’ve made it to her. I do try sending videos of the basics to her but I cannot say in good mind if they’ve reached her,” he replied and Tim nodded with a sympathetic look.

“Understandable. We can barely send her anything ourselves without it having trouble. But I think it’s safe to say that, Cass won’t be able to lead this performance,” Tim said and the man nodded.

“I do believe your right. I’ll tell Melody that when she’s done. Don’t take too long,” Mr. G said, giving Tim one last nod before walking over to the other dancers and talking to them.

With a hum, Melody made her way back to Tim and handed him the folder. “There, all signed,” she replied with a smile and Tim smiled back.

“Thanks, sorry about interrupting your practice.”

Melody waved a hand at that. “It’s nothing, I promise. You at least waited for us to have not been actively dancing,” she said with a smile before waving. “See you later, Tim,” She ran over to the group and nodded to Mr. G.

“Alright, Melody, please redo that last segment for your solo, please,” he said and she nodded. Tim paused as he reached the door and turned to watch as the music started. He couldn’t look away as Melody danced across the floor, he was mesmerized watching her move all around, a tear falling unnoticed. Feeling his phone buzzing, Tim pushed the door open and left, pulling his phone out with his other hand and answered the call.

_ A Melody @balletlife _

_ Had a good week!! Got a new job and more time to do what i love!!! #amazing #ballet #newjob #moretime #cantwait _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so i had a bit more planned but this has taken so long i didnt want to make you guys wait any longer. I hope you guys enjoyed it!!! -Love Willa <3<3<3

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so here’s the new fic!! So this is going to be multi chap!! Just so you guys know, the updates will most likely be whacky. Just thought I’d tell ya. Also, that little tweet above? Those will be at the end of every chap! The amazing discord server helped with those!! Most of the times, they’ll prob be ones that they made or be based off ‘em. And a few times they’ll be made up by me. But ya, just wanted to tell you guys that. Until the next chap!! -Love Willa <3<3<3


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